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THESE ARE THE CONTENTS OF THIS GREAT BOOK. 




Egyptian Incubatorles. 

Structure of an Egg-Development of the Chick. 
Natural Laws of Incubation. 
Laying House with Scratching Shed. 
Pullets vs. Hens as Profitable Layers. 
Best Breeds for BroHers. 
What and How to Feed. 
Hatchable Eggs— How to Get Them. 
Suggestions on Building Incubator Cellars. 
Building an Incubator Cellar. 
Construction of Brood Houses for Chicks. 
Brooding House— Underneath Piping System. 
Brooding House— Overhead Piping System. 
Single Row Reliable Brooding House. 
Double Row Reliable Brooding House. 
Description of House for Indoor Brooders. 



Breeding Stock— Incubating— Chicks. 

Testing Eggs for Hatching. 

Use of Thermometers In Incubators. 

The Incubator In Operation. 

General Care of Incubator Hatehed Cblcka, 

Raising the Chickens. 

How to Use Outdoor Brooders. 

Feeding and Forcing Broilers. 

Profitable Broiler Raising. 

Incubators on the Farm. 

Poultry for Market. 

Pekln Ducks for Profit. 

Breeding and Feeding Pekln Dudu. 

To Hatch and Raise Ducks. 

Profltabl« Broiler Raisins. 



This book In addition to illustrations above referred to, contains illustrations of Barrad Plymouth Rocks, Whito Plymouth R*ah«, Buff Plr> 
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«Ttiat, Franklane h. Sewell. 

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TVRKE YS... 



ALL VARIETIES. 



THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



Mating^ Rearing, Exhibiting and Judging Turlieys — Explanation of Score-Card 

Judging, witti Complete instructions. 



A Collection of the Experiences of Best Known Successful Turliey 
Breeders, Exhibitors and Judges. 



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LIBRMTV of OONBRESS 
TWd OoDles RecfHVM 
SEP 19 1904 
y~, Oomlrtehf Entry 

GLASS <^ XXo. No. 

9l!>9 3% 

COPY B 

JrtM.iiii 



"/4 turkey boiled 
Is a turkey spoiled, 
A turkey roast 
Is a nation's boast, 
But for turkey braized 
The Lord be praised." 



Copyright by Reliable Poultry Journal Pub. Co., 1904 



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TURKE YS DOMES TIC A TED— IN TRODUCTOR Y. 



A Setive American Fowl that for Utility Yields the Palm to \one~lts Home, the Farm— Its Patron, the Farmer's 

Wife— Its Destiny, a Thanksgiving Feast. 




MONG native American fowls the turkey is 
entitled to rank first. Proud and brilliant as 
any, it possesses the additional attribute of 
being the greatest among utility fowls. Al- 
though to an extent domesticated, it retains 
the instincts of a wild bird, and this fact must be 
recognized by those who desire to make a success of turkey 
raising. 

The farm is more and more becoming the home of the 
turkey; its wide acres form a natural breeding spot and pro- 
vide an abundance of food that is particularly palatable to 
the taste of this king of the poultry kingdom. The nature of 
turkeys is now so wtll known that few persons even attempt 
to raise them in confinement. 

In its wild state the male generally has only one mate, 
but in som^ cases two females reciprocate his advances. In 
domestication there is a wide difference in this respect, toms 
being occasionally mated to twenty hens, and generally to 
eight or twelve. Some breeders are glad to introduce wild 
blood in their flock when opportunity offers, which is but 
seldom. By such introduction the vigor and size of the birds 
are increased and the plumage in some sections is rendered 
even more brilliant. 

Turkey breeders have not given the same attention to 
line breeding as have fanciers of the domestic fowl. With 
hardly an exception they advise — "Do not inbreed," and per- 
haps it is well, for the majority of turkey raisers are farm- 
ers, or rather, farmers' wives, whose sole aim is to produce 
a marketable fowl and who have little inclination to attend 
to the details of line breeding. The advice, "Do not in- 
breed," is therefore based upon the knowledge that vigor 
would soon disappear from a flock indiscriminately inbred. 
Prominent exhibitors to some extent do breed in line, but 
they so often outcrcss that their flocks retain few character- 
istics to denote a distinct strain. There is no absolute neces- 
sity for line breeding in the case of this ancient fowl, for it 
naturally breeds true to shape and color, and will continue 
to do so if the standard makers will allow. A fowl known to 
have been bred to its own kind for hundreds of years may 
claim the right to be admittedly line bred, and nothing but 
crossing can eradicate the tendency to breed true to shape 
and color. During all these years the introduction of wild 
blood has kept alive the wild nature in the domesticated 
turkey. At the beginning of this period the birds were 
totally wild, and for many years it was easier to procure a 
wild bird than a partially tame one. The use of wild blood 
was therefore frequent, becoming less common as years 
rolled by. until now it seldom occurs. Year by year tur- 
keys will therefore become more and more domesticated and 
less inclined to range over a wide stretch of country. Wild 
turkeys are becoming fewer, domestic turkeys more numer- 
ous; and gradually the habits of the wild fowl will be dis- 
placed, and the gobbler and his mate will be content to limit 
their wanderings to the boundaries of the farm, while "the 
better half" may be induced to deposit her eggs in any old 
barrel, as the domestic hen does now. 



So long as the tendency of the turkey is to be wild, it is 
best to adapt its surrounding and care to its desires and 
constitution. 

The custom is to allow turkeys to roost outside. A little 
attention during their youthful days will induce them to 
conie home to roost. 

In the case of young stock the general rule is to confine 
them, and to be careful that they are not exposed to storms, 
wet grass, etc. This is well, but it may be overdone. One 
of our correspondents whose farm we have visited allows his 
young stock to run with the mother over extensive grounds 
where the grass is kept short. They are healthy and big. 
Timbered lands are ideal spots for young poults if the vege- 
tation is not dense and they usually thrive in such a loca- 
tion. That dreaded "bowel trouble" which causes the death 
of a large proportion of young stock is less liable to attack 
birds raised on the range, because they are not as likely to 
be overfed, and because lice do not multiply so rapidly as 
when the birds are cooped. 

There is a general impression among farmers that tur- 
keys are difficult to raise; so they are if the same method 
is adopted with them that holds good in raising chickens on 
the farm, but if the habits of the wild turkey are studied and 
the flock allowed to imitate them during the breeding season 
there will be but few obstacles to success. The domestic fowl 
when it hatches its brood of chicks is usually cooped for 
a week or two, and when it is released it seldom wanders far 
from the coop, so that in case of storms or change of tem- 
perature shelter is easily reached. Not so the turkey. She 
may be cooped for a time, but it makes little difference in 
her habits, and when she is released it seems that the fur- 
ther she can get from her late prison the better she is 
pleased. The poults have hitherto remained near the coop 
within call of the mother, they have been fed by the breeder, 
and the change of life which the wandering spirit of their 
parent renders necessary is entirely different from that they 
have been accustomed to and calls for more robust constitu- 
tions than they possess. The mother has passed that period 
which cautions her to limit the exercise of her young, as she 
naturally would do if at liberty when the poults are first 
hatched, and instead of gradually increasing the length of 
her rambles in search of food, she now forces her young 
beyond their strength and runs chances of exposing them to 
weather to which they have not been accustomed. It would 
have been better to allow the mother her freedom from the 
first. The very weakness of the poults when hatched would 
keep them within reach of shelter for a time, and the 
weather hardening process would be gradual. 

We have heard old breeders say that the morning dew, 
and dampness harbored by fields of hay and grain do not in- 
jure poults that have had their freedom from the start. 
Nevertheless if there is a choice between such a location and 
pasture fields or Woodlands take either of the two last 
named. Turkeys with young will frequent the woods if 
there are any in the neighborhood, and among the trees they 
find sufficient vegetation to harbor insects, and the ground, 
is comparatively dry and free from long grass. 



TITRKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



Half the battle of raising turkeys is won if the breeders 
are allowed free range for some time before the breeding 
season, and receive only an evening meal sufficient to induce 
them to return home. This treatment renders them hardy, re- 
moves the surplus fat that has accumulated during the heavy 
winter feeding, causes the eggs to be strongly fertilized, and 
the poults to be on the jump from the time they are hatched. 
Rearing healthy poults is a pleasure, not a hardship. 

It is better to let turkeys imagine they are having their 
own wild way in preparation for the laying season. There 
is a happy medium between the continual struggle of the 
attendant to make madam turkey lay in a hen's nest, and the 
struggle of the madam to deposit her egg on the next farm. 
Coax her to think she has found a secluded nest, which of 
course you will have arranged for her not too far from home. 
This will need to be done a month or so before the laying 
season, and is one way to avoid loss of eggs and poults. 

"What is a farm without a turkey?" might well be the 
plaint of the farmer's wife who "once had" but now "has 
not." In days gone by she has watched them grow day by 
day, looked for them to come home evening after evening 
with their appetites allayed, and a store of animal and vege- 
table food treasured up in their crops for the formation of 
the bone and muscle which signifies size; and it has cost her 
— nothing; the growing clover has been protected from in- 
jury by insect pests; grasshoppers have hopped in vain 
from the graceful gliding of the mother who quickly teaches 
her flock that these pests may be turned to account; the 
farmer seeing it, has been content to let them have their 
way, and his wife has been happy in the thought that "I 
shai; wear a bright new bonnet." 

Imagine a little poult weighing only a few ounces, and 
then picture to yourself the same bird after a period tipping 
the scales at thirty-Jive or forty pounds. In this growth and 
in the nearly perfect beauty of a matured torn lies the attrac- 
tion to the turkey raiser. 

The Bronze turkey is king of all varieties. The standard 
places the weights high, but it should be understood that 
this law of v.'eights is but a safeguard to prevent loss of size 
in the noble bird. Standard weights, are, we may say, the 
lowest weights that may be possessed by Bronze turkeys bred 
for exhibition. Certainly there are exhibited turkeys that 
do not come up to the requirements in weight, but the pen- 
alty in such a case is so severe that these cases are few. If 
a Bronze turkey in the show room is two pounds under 
weight its chances of winning the chief honors have gone. 

Notwithstanding the importance of weight in the show 
room, experienced fanciers prefer that their breeding pen 
shall contain birds of less rather than greater weight. The 
eggs will be better fertilized and the young birds more vig- 
orous than if heavy weights had been mated. As, however," 
the principal demand among turkey raisers is for birds of 
great size, the fancier is forced to breed rangy birds in order 
to satisfy this demand. 

As a dressed fowl it is necessary that the outlines of the 
carcass should not be marred by any deformity, and with 
this in view, the' American Standard requires that birds 
having wfy tails or crooked backs shall not be allowed to 
compete for prizes in the show room; further, that a de- 
formed keel shall receive a cut or penalty, which in pro- 
nounced instances may be placed at three points. This, as 
in the case of weight, is a wise law, intended to maintain the 
utility qualities of the fowl. 



So far as the plumage of the Bronze variety is concerned 
there appears to be little trouble in securing magnificent 
color. It seems to be a perquisite of the Bronze turkey, and 
enables it to score far higher than other birds of parti-color. 
This is a rule and not an exception. 

To observe a matured torn strutting in the sunlight is to 
see one of the most beautiful utility fowls that has been 
created. No farm is complete without its flock. The range 
they require is an obstacle to keeping them in large flocks 
and the very fact that they are at home upon the range is 
one of the reasons why they are so economically raised. 
They require very little food during the growing season and 
in the fall the farmer's wife flnds that she has at compara- 
tively no cost, a Hock of birds, which sell at $1.50 to $2 each. 
This is the result of a little care and common sense, and 
occasionally she realizes more profit on her flock than her 
husband does on his farm. 

The Bronze turkey Is not alone in its marketabla quali- 
ties: in fact, we have been told by experienced breeders that 
they prefer the Narragansett; it has been corroborated, too, 
by local dealers who find that among their customers there 
is more call for the medium sized Narragansett than for the 
larger Bronze. The standard weights for the former range 
from two to six pounds lighter than for the latter. 

There are comparatively few Buff or Slate turkeys bred. 
Their standard weights are alike, ranging from twelve 
pounds in the pullet to twenty-seven pounds in the cock. 

White Holland turkeys are second in favor to the 
Bronze, notwithstanding the Narragansett is creeping up in 
the' race for the place. There has been difficulty in raising 
White Holland turkeys of standard weight, but by careful 
breeding and paying special attention to vigor we now find 
among experienced breeders White Hollands that tip the 
scale at weights above those required by the standard. 
White Holland turkeys are favorite table fowls, the color of 
their legs giving them an advantage over the Bronze, al- 
though so far as utility requirements are concerned the 
lines dividing leg color are not so distinctly drawn as in the 
case of the domestic fowl. 

The Black turkey is a variety seldom seen in the show 
room. 

It has been said that the number of turkeys bred ia the 
east is decreasing yearly, but we believe that statement has 
only a local application. Speaking generally, there are far 
more turkeys exported now than was the case a few years 
ago, and we know the best of them do not all come from the 
west. In the fall there is annually a round-up by turkey 
buyers, and thousands of turkeys are killed and packed for 
export in many an outlying town or village. These turkeys 
never reach the central markets of this country and that 
perhaps is the reason why it has been said that they are 
decreasing in number. Breeders will welcome the news of 
such a decrease. Export of turkeys means higher prices at 
home, more demand, and what naturally follows — greater 
profits. In the export business one mistake has occasionally 
been made, and that is the holding back of stock for the 
Christmas market in Europe. Such a course is bound to 
cause a glut in the market, and a reduction In the profits. 
There is, except during the summer months, a continual de- 
mand in the old country for good stock at remunerative 
prices, and this demand will dispose of all the surplus that 
can be raised in this country for years to come. 

ROBERT H. ESSEX. 



STANDARD-BRED BRONZE TURKEYS. 



An Illustrated, Detailed Description of What the Standard of Perfection Reaulres In Bronie Turkeys Male and 

Female— With Instructions on Judging by the Score Card. 



By Mr. Theo. Hewes, Breeder and Judge, with Special Charts by Mr. Sewell. 




N THE breeding, care and management ot tur- 
keys, many excellent articles are written tvery 
season. Reliable information from our most 
prominent breeders lias given the beginner a 
good general idea as to the fancy and commer- 
cial value of this the greatest of American 
fowls, but the points that go to make up a fancy show speci- 
men have never been so fully described that an amateur may. 
with a reasonable degree of certainty, select the best speci- 
mens from his flock. There is alwtys a doubt in the minds of 
readers as to whether they understand aright from a written 
description, but a chart showing perfection in markings can 
be referred to at any time and this will give the amateur a 
degree of confidence he can obtain in no other way. With 
this idea in mind we present herewith two charts showing 
the correct markings and shape of Bronze turkeys, male 
and female. These charts hereinafter will be referred to 
as Figs. 1 and 3 in our description. 

We shall give ihe reader our Idea of defects, placing the 
same valuation on them that we would were we discounting 
them in the. show room. In a description of this kind there 
is more or less repetition and the old breeders will find that 
we are telling that which they already knew, but we irust 
they will recall the time when they were beginners and bear 
in mind that this article is intended more for amateur than 
for professional breeders. 

In describing and considering the Bronze Turkey we wi;i 
follow the same plan we have in former articles on other 
breeds, remembering always that the standard is the proper 
guide. Our aim is to give the reader a correct impression 
of the standard's meaning, and to call attention to any 
errors that in our judgment have crept in and become a part 
of standard law. Let us now take up the Bronze turkey male, 
section by section, scoring him the same as we would if we 
had a live specimen before us, using chart Fig. 1 as our 
model. 

SYMMETRY OR TYPICAL CARRIAGE. 

"Typical Carriage," is the wording of the present stand- 
ard. We maintain now as we have from the start that the 
wording is wrong. "Symmetry" is proper and should be 
used instead of "Typical Carriage." As we understand it, 
"Typical Carriage" may mean any carriage that the bird is 
accustomed to, but "Symmetry" means the harmonious join- 
ing together of all sections so that we may have an ideal 
outline, strictly typioal of the breed it represents. All sec- 
tions of a breed may be perfect in themselves and still be so 
joined together that the symmetry or typical outline will be 
wholly lacking. As we look at the matter, symmetry, prop- 
erly understood, is the most important section in the stand- 
ard and if we were purchasing a bird from a score card, and 
were acquainted with the judge, we would pay more atten- 
tion to the cuts for lack of symmetry than to all other shape 
cuts combined. 

.Tudges B. N. Pierce and F. W. Hitchcock are perhaps 
the best posted American judges on the section of symmetry, 
and if we were to see a score card by either of these judges 



un a specimen we were intending to purchase, we state em- 
phatically that their cut on symmetry would decide the pur- 
chase price. We are writing considerable on this section, as 
we wish to impress on the mind of the amateur that the 
proper interpretation of symmetry is of more importance 
than any other one section, and if you get this fact fixed in 
your mind you will have the shape problem solved. 

.ludges themselves do not give this section as close at- 
tention as they should, some judges even ignoring it alto- 
gether. This has brought the section into disrepute and 
quite often we hear the statement made that it should be 
dropped from the standard; but when as reliable a system 
of discounting symmetry is used uniformly as the one em- 
ployed by Messrs. Pierce and Hitchcock, symmetry will be- 
come the most important section and should be retained 
always. Judges who are ignoring this section, or who make 
light of it as is done in some instances, will realize their 
mistake in time, for poultry associations will refuse to em- 
ploy them as experts. 

We now ask the reader to make a careful inspection ot 
the chart. Fig. 1. Here we have an ideal Bronze turkey 
male, representing a bird over a year old or one that would 
be classed as a cock. In him we see the perfectly rounded 
outline, symmetrical and pleasing to the eye, together with 
the massive body that goes to make up the forty-five and 
forty-eight pound males, and it is just such birds as this 
that we must breed if we are to reach the fifty-pound 
weight limit, which seems to be the aim and object of a 
number of prominent breeders. The symmetry of a show 
specimen is hard to determine unless the birds are shown 
in large, roomy exhibition pens so the one under inspection 
can move about and assume natural positions without being 
cramped in any way. If two or more birds are cooped to- 
gether, as is often the case at small shows, it is next to 
impossible to get them to stand as they would naturally, 
and the judging of symmetry under these conditions is more 
or less in the form of guesswork. The judges should^ refuse 
to make out a score card until all but one of the specimens 
are removed, so that he can get a proper idea of the outline 
of the one for which he is making out the card. See repro- 
duction of score card herewith. 

The only criticism we would make on symmetry of the 
Bronze male represented in Fig. 1 is in the body section. 
The outline should be a trifle deeper back of the thighs. 
Nearly all specimens are more or less defective in this sec- 
tion. While it is necessary that we have a well rounded 
breast, at the same time we do not want to overlook the fact 
thar. we want something back of the legs to balance this, 
otherwise it will make the bird look as though it were brac- 
ing on its toes instead of standing squarely on its feet as it 
should. 

In discounting for lack of symmetry we will call up some 
of the numerous defects that we find in scoring, taking one 
show with another. Where neck is too long or too straight, 
one-half out; back too narrow or too straight, failing to 
show the nice curve so much desired, one-half to one out; 



6 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



tail too short or too long, one-half out; if carried too high, 
one-half to one out; breast too flat or too narrow, one out; 
breast not deep enough from shoulders to point of breast- 
bone, one-half to one out; wings poorly folded so as to im- 
pair the symmetry of the specimen, one-fourth to one-half 
out; body too short or too narrow, one-half out; legs too 
short or too long, one-half to one out, as in degree. 

WEIGHT OF BRONZE TURHEYS. 

This section is valued at fifteen points, and is of much 
importance if the breeder proposes to exhibit his birds, and 
equally as important if he is breeding for commercial uses 
aud expects to compete with the breeders of heavy weights. 
The standard weights of Bronze turkeys are, adult cocks, 
thirty-six pounds; yearling cocks, thirty-three pounds; hens, 
twenty pounds; pullets, sixteen pounds; cockerels, twenty- 
five pounds. In the show room the standard instructs us to 
cut three points per pound for any deficit from standard 
weight, hence any one may readily understand that a bird 
that is from one to two pounds under weight has a small 
chance of winning prizes in keen competition. It is claimed 
by some that we have the Bronze turkey weights entirely too 
high, and that the breed would be better off if they were 
bred smaller. The writer is of the opinion that the present 
weights are plenty high enough and personally would vote to 
reduce rather than increase them. At the same time the com- 
mittee who revised the last standard had letters from the 
National Turkey Club, requesting an increase in weight in 
both male and female. The trouble with an increase is 
that the market does not call for so large a carcass. Smaller 
birds are in demand and at better prices, and it is well 
for the breeder to look to the market side of the ques- ■ 
tion. While forty-five to fifty-pound birds are handsome 
to look at and attract the attention of everybody, it is a 



self-evident fact that few, if any of us would care to invest 
in one for table use, and the same rule will hold good with 
every family in the country. The only practical use that can 
be made of them is in large hotels, and there the.y are 
classed as "soupers" and as a rule sell from one to three 
cents per pound lower than smaller birds. 

CONDITION. 

This section is valued at six points, and refers not alone 
to the health of the specimen, but the condition of its plum- 
age. A bird should be placed on exhibition not alone in a 
healthy condition, but 
its plumage should be 
carefully looked after. 
Exhibitors should see to 
it that no specimen is 
allowed to be entered 
that has broken wing or 
tail feathers, or is in a 
soiled or crumpled con- 
dition, owing to the lack 
of proper room in which 
to exercise. A bird 
showing signs of roup 
or cholera should be 




IDEAL OR STANDARD BRONZE TURKEY MALE. 

Fig. I— Chart, Drawn by Franklane L. Sewell, Showing Outline and Markings 

of Ideal or Standard Bronze Turkey Male. 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



debarred from competition. This is the first duty of the 
judge, that birds showing symptoms of either of these dis- 
eases should be removed from the show room, thus saving 
other birds that are liable to be infected. When a bird 
shows a slight cold or symptom of canker, the cut is one- 
half to one; if feathers are broken or the bird is in bad 
shape from fighting, the cut is one-half to one and one-half. 
Dirty specimens which show that no care has been given 
them should be discounted one-half to two points. 

HEAD. 

Head is valued at five points, and is usually good, both 
as to shape and color. The standard says that in shape the 
head should be long and broad; in color a rich red change- 
able to bluish white. About the only defect that is com- 
monly found in the shape of head is to be noted in what is 
called a bullet headed turkey. In other words, the head is 
too short. It looks more like a marble and should be dis- 
counted one-half to one and one-half, as in degree. If the 
beak is too long or too straight, or is damaged in any way. 
as is often the case in cocks that have been fighting, the cut 
is one-half to one, as in degree. 

THROAT AND WATTLES. 

This section is valued at five points, and as a rule passes 
without discount, especially so in color. However, the stan- 
dard calls for heavy carunculations, while we sometimes 
find a specimen that is almost smooth. In cases of this kind 
the out is one-half to one. 

NECK. 

This section has a valuation of six points, three for 
shape and three for color. In shape it should be long, curv- 
ing backwards; in color, a light, rich, brilliant bronze. 
Please note the wording, "light bronze," but it must be bril- 
liant and show a bronze sheen. The bronze shading on the 
neck is not so deep as in other sections, and makes a lighter 
bronze by comparison with other parts of the body. The 
neck seldom receives a cut either for shape or color, but we 
sometimes find a neck that is too straight and too long, and 
it should be discounted one-half to three-fourths. If the 
color shades off to a brown on the back of the neck, as it 
sometimes does, the cut is one-half to one. 

BACK. 

This section in a turkey, as in any other variety of fowl, 
is of great importance, for without a well-balanced back the 
specimen is of little value as a breeder. This section is 
valued at ten points, five for shape and five for color. In 
shape it should curve somewhat, rising from the junction of 
the neck and the body, and extending in a gradual curve 
toward the tail. The color from neck to center of back 
should be a light brilliant bronze, each feather terminating 
in a narrow black band extending across the end. From the 
center of back to tail coverts the color should be black, each 
feather heavily edged with bronze. In describing the shape 
of back we think the standard should say something about 
proper length. As I remember the revision committee's re- 
port, on this breed it read, "medium in length." As it now 
reads no preference may be given to a long, a short or a 
medium length, so long as the general shape conforms to the 
general description. The committee's report (I refer to the 
committee that met at Fisher's Island) read about like this: 
"Back — Broad, of medium length," and then followed the 
present description. As it now stands the most important 
section of th« bird, so far as the shape is concerned, is 
passed without a proper description. 

We next refer to a few defects in back that should be 
discounted. If the back is too straight, failing to show the 
curve above referred to, the out is one to one and one-half 
points. If the curve is too prominent, giving the bird the 
appearance of having a hump back, the out is one to two. If 



the back is deformed or crooked, the specimen is disquali- 
fied. In color, if the feathers fail in the narrow black bands 
across the end, the out is one-half to one. There is some- 
times a shading of brown on the backs of males. It is a 
narrow edging on the outside of the black. When this color 
crops out it should be discounted one to two points, as in 
degree. With the poor description of back, as furnished by 
the standard, I would suggest that the amateur study the 
general shape of the back on the chart (Fig. 1) and take it 
for his model. You will not go far wrong if you adopt this 
as a practically ideal bird and try to breed to it. 

BREAST. 

From a commercial viewpdint this section has more real 
value than any other section on the bird, while from the 
fancy standpoint it is seldom good enough to pass without a 

imeiicaiiFoulKyilssoclatloii Score Can 

ISame of Association, . . Highland 

Owner, John .Sviith .... 

Date, /, iS, igoi 

Breed Bronze Turkey . . . .Sex, Cockerel 

Entry No 10 Band No 23. .... . 

Coop No 185 Weight, 24 lbs. . . 





SHAPE. 


COLOR. 


REMARKS. 


Typical Carriage 

Weight 

Condition 


.. 3 .. 








Comb 








Eves 




Head 






Wattles and Earlobes. . . 








Neck 




Back 

TaXl.. Broken Feather. . . 

Wings 

Breast Not full . . 


.. 1 .. 


..4.. 
.. 1 .. 
.. 1 .. 


Brown Edging 
Poor Barring 


Body and Fluff 








Legs and Feet 








Crest and Beard 






Hardness of Feather .... 

















Total Outs, . . Si . . Score, . . 914 . 

Judge, Theo /femes .... 

Sec'y, John Browti .... 



Reproduction of Score Card, Showing Sample "Cuts" for Defects. 

discount. It is valued at ten points, and like the back is 
subdivided, five for shape and five for color. In shape it 
should be broad, deep and full; in color, a light, rich, bril- 
liant bronze. If the breast is too narrow or is flat, the out 
is one-half to one and one-half. If it is too shallow or not 
deep enough through from the shoulder to point of breast- 
bone, the out is one-half to two, as in degree. If the color 
fails in the narrow edge of the black, giving the surface a 
dead sort of color, thie out is one-half to one. If some of the 
feathers on the breast show an outside edging of white, the 
out is one-half to one and one-half, as in degree. 

BODY AND FLUFF. 

Like breast and back this section has a valuation of ten 
points and is divided equally between shape and color. In 
regard to shape, it has the best general description of any of 
the sections described by the standard. The standard says, 
"Body — Long, deep through the center and well rounded. In 
color, body black, beautifully shaded with bronze, but not so 
decided or so rich as that of the breast. Fluff — Black, each 
feather ending in a wide black and bronzy band extending 



8 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



across the feather, with a narrow edging of white or gray." 
The standard description of the shape of this section shows 
clearly that there was an error either in the committee's re- 
port on back shape, or some part of their report on back was 
lost before it was presented at the Boston meeting, for in 
body section the .standard calls for a long, deep body, which 
would require at least a medium length of back. 

In color of body and fluff the description is not so good. 
We find that the most brilliantly colored specimens show the 
tracing of white or gray on the outer edge from the thighs 
back; in fact, the feather as shown on the thigh of Fig. 1 
should have this white edge the same as is shown on the 
breast of the female. See chart of female (Fig. 3). 

If the body is too short or too narrow, the out is one- 
half to two, as in degree. If flat, failing to show a well 
rounded outline, the cut is one-half to one. If too shallow 
through, that is, not deep enough from back to point uf keel 
bono, the out Is one-half to two, as in degree. If keel is 
crooked or slightly twisted, the out is one-half to one; if 
badly twisted or so much out of line that the crookedness 



the thighs. With this e.\ception we hesitate to criticise the 
chart in any way as an ideal outline. 

WINGS. 

So far as color is concerned this is the most important 
of all the sections, and it is seldom that a specimen passes 
without a discount. The standard valuation is four for 
shape and six for color. Owing to the importance of this 
section from the color standpoint, the revision committee 
tried to add more points to color, so as to subdivide the sec- 
tion, but it was found that six points were all that could be 
given without injuring some other section. 

We again call attention to chart (Fig. 1) and ask the 
reader to study carefully the wing feathers as illustrated by 
Mr, Sewell. In order to help the reader to get a clear under- 
standing of this important section, wo give the standard 
wording, and ask the reader to follow Mr. Sewell's drawing 
from wing bow to the end of the flight feathers. The stand- 
ard says, "Rows black, w-ith a brilliant bronzy or greenish 



-H||r — wr~ 




The Pride of the farm. 



can be seen when viewed from the outside, the out should 
be the limit allowed by the standard, namely, three points. 

While on this section, permit me to call the attention 
of the amateur to the fact that while crooked breast bones do 
not disqualify and will not invariably reappear in tiio pro- 
geny, we would not advise their use if you can avoid it, as 
this as well as other defects will be bred into the young if 
used repeatedly in the breeding pen. 

In color the body is usually good, although the fluff is 
liable to run into a snuff color, bordering on a dingy brown. 
This defect in color should be discounted one-half to one 
and one-half points. If the white band fails to show up at 
the end of the feather, leaving the feather black, the out is 
one point. 

If the body does not extend well out behind the legs, but 
cuts off short in this region, giving the bird the appearance 
of having too much weight in front of the legs, the out is 
one-half to one and one-half. In our chart (Fig. 1) we would 
add a trifle more to the length and depth of the body behind 



lustre. Primaries, each feather evenly and distinct:y 
barred across with pai'allel bars of black and white extend- 
ing the entire length of the feather. Secondaries, black or 
dark brown, evenly and regularly barred, crossed with bars 
of white or gray, color changing to a bronzy brown as the 
center of the back is approached, with but little admixture 
of white. An edging of white or brown in the secondaries 
is very objectionable. Coverts, a beautiful rich bronze, the 
feathers terminating in a wide black band, forming a oroad 
bronzy band across the wings when folded, and separated 
from the primaries by a glossy black, ribbon-like mark 
formed by the ends of the coverts." 

Note carefully the tracing of the bronze on wing bow. 
Up near the top the feathers are solid black, but as they ap- 
proach the wing-bar the bronze edging deepens, giving the 
wing when viewed in the sunlight the color of burnished 
gold. The description of wings might go farther and add 
that the last bar on the primaries and secondaries should 
end with black. This is correct, at any rate, and it v/ill be 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



9 



well for the amateur to make a note of it. Again, it is well 
to remember that the tracing or barring should extend to 
the end of the feathers. Quite often we iind a specimen that 
is unusually good in color, especially so in primaries and 
secondaries, except that near the end of the feather the bar- 
ring will stop and the last two inches will be solid black. 
When the wing of the male is perfect in color, except this 
black, mate him with females that show more white than 
black in their flighis, and should you have one that has a 
wing with the last bar white instead of black, she will be 
all the more valuable as a breeder. In scoring the wing of 
either male or female, when this black appears at the end 
of feather the out is one point. 

If the barring is irregular, showing zig-zag tracings 
across the wing, the out is one-half to one, as in degree. If 



examining this fowl carefully, and the photograph, while 
good, does not do the bird justice. The photographer al- 
lowed the lower end of the flight feathers to be taken in a 
shadow, making the ends of the feathers look blurred. The 
photographer was at fault, not the feathers, as we know 
personally that the barring in this case extends to the ends 
of the feathers. 

TAIL. 

This is another important section, especially as regards 
color. In this respect it is next in importance to the wing — 
in fact, a specimen with perfect wings would be debarred 
from the breeding pen if it failed to show fairly good color 
in this section. The tail has the same valuation as wings, 
four for shape and six for color. As a rule, this section is 




Fig. 2 Reproduced from Photograph Showing Standard Barring on Wing of Bronze Turkey Male. 



the barring appears only on one side of the quill the other 
side showing black or a mixed up muddy color, the out is 
one-half to two, as in degree. If the secondaries show a 
slight tracing or edging of white or brown, the out is one- 
half. If this edging is prominent enough to mar the beauty 
of the wing, the out is one to two. If the coverts fail in the 
black band at end of feather, causing what would be termed 
an unfinished wing, the out is one-half to one and one-half 
points. 

In order to show breeders the remarkable progress that 
is being made in the breeding of this variety we refer the 
reader to the half-tone of wing Fig. 2, on page 24. This 
shows the wing of a bird owned by Mr. W. J. Bell. While 
this . wing is not absolutely perfect, for there is a slight 
break in color at the lower end of the flight feathers at the 
same time there have been few better wings shown in this 
country, and Mr. Bell has a right to feel proud of this speci- 
men, both as to color of wings and tail. 

In Fig. 2 (this page) is shown the wing of a male bird 
owned by Mr. B. F. Hislop. He is a grand specimen, both 
as to color and shape. The writer has had the pleasure of 



better understood by the average fancier than the wing, not 
as regards breeding, but in regard to discounts and what 
really constitutes perfect color. In shape the standard 
says, "rather long." This is not a good description. In our 
opinion it should read, 'rather long and well spread," as 
a pinched tail on a turkey spoils the beauty of the specimen, 
no matter how finely colored it may be, while a well spread 
tail carries with it the complete curve of the back and shows 
off to advantage the fancy color in the coverts. 

We again call attention to Fig. 1 and ask that the reader 
study the markings as illustrated by Mr. Sewell, not alone in 
the tail proper, but in the tail coverts as well. The standard 
says, in description of the color of the tail proper, "each 
feather irregularly penciled with narrow band of light brown 
and ending in a broad black band with a wide edging of 
white or gray, v/hite preferred." We do not quite like this 
wording, at the same time we hardly know how to make it 
any plainer to the amateur, except in the description of the 
end of the feather. The standard says, "white or gray, white 
preferred." I would suggest to the amateur that he make his 
standard read "white," as gray is not the correct color and 



10 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



should be discounted. The black band referred to near the 
end of the feather should be a rich metallic black and the 
white a pure white. On a well bred specimen the two colors 
are so pure and distinct as to give them the appearance of 
ebony and alabaster joined together on straight lines, in 
fact, it is doubtful if there is a fowl in existence, either 
tame or wild, where the two colors, white and black, show 
so distinctly and with so beautiful an effect as on the tail 
and tail coverts of well bred Bronze turkey males. 

The standard says, in describing the coverts, "Coverts 
black or dark brown, each feather irregularly penciled with 
a narrow band of light brown, ending in a wide black and 
bronze band extending across the feather with a wide edging 
of white or gray, white preferred." The more distinct the 
color throughout the whole plumage, the better. Here again 
our advice to the amateur is, drop the word gray and strive 
to produce the pure white edging, which is the seal of beauty 
of the breed and which, with careful selection of the breed- 
ing stock, can be obtained in a large percentage of the off- 
spring. 

In chart (Fig. 1) you will note that the color of the cov- 
erts shows black. The end color of the tail proper is hidden 
by the coverts, but the fluffy portion of the feather is black. 
Will say, however, that in the tail proper all of the web por- 
tion of the feather should be penciled with straight bars as 
shown on the chart. In scoring the specimen the judge al- 
wavs examines the tail color, well down near the roots of 



the feather, for many otherwise good specimens are found 
to be defective there. One of the common defects to be found 
at the root of the tail feathers is solid black; this defective 
coloring sometimes extends upward three or four inches 
from the base, with no sign of penciling. Such tails should 
bo discounted one-half to one and one-half. Another defect 
sometimes found at the base of the tail feathers consists of 
br.'jad bands or bars of pure white. As a rule, this is caused 
by trying to breed too wide a band of white on the tail cov- 
erts and on the ends of the tail feathers. Too much "White 
blood" crops out at the base of 
the tail, and sometimes it will 
show at the base of the pri- 
maries in wings. 

Here we come upon the se- 
cret of what maker) the breed- 
ing of fancy poultry so deeply 
interesting. If we attempt to 
mix our colors too strongly, 
nature silently, but unfailing- 
ly, steps in and blurs them up 
for us. If these v.'ide white 




IDEAL OR STANDARD BRONZE TURKEY FEMALE. 

Flo. 3— Chart, Drawn by Franklane L. Sewell, Showing Outline and Markings of Ideal or 
Standard Bronie Turkey Female. 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



11 



proper the out is one-half to one. Where the white outside 
lacing is mixed with gray or brown the out is one-half to 
one and one-half. Where the coverts fail to show a clear 
edging, the out is one-half to one. If mixed with brown or a 
dirty gray, the out is one-half to one and a half. A tail that 
shows a decided edging of brown or red should be severely 
discounted in the show room and be discarded from the 
breeding pen, for it shows an outside cross with the wild 
turkey, and is not, in color, a pure bronze. 

On page 24 in Fig. 3 is shown a half-tone made from a 
photograph of the tail of the same bird that is represented 
in Pig. 2. This illustration shows the reader what remark- 
ably good color Mr. Bell has_secured in his breeding stock. 
The tracing of the barring on the tail is not so distinct as 
that on the chart, at the same time you can trace it by a 
careful inspection of the photographs, and the outside edging 
of white is as fine as the writer has ever seen. 

tecs 4/VO TOES. 

This section, while not valued high in the scale of 
points, is really of considerable importance both to the com- 
mercial and fancy breeder. The standard gives the legs and 
toes a valuation of five points, and describes them in shape 
as follows: "Thighs long and stout; shanks large, long and 
strong; toes straight and strong." 

Once more we call your attention to Fig. 1. Here you 
will find the pair of legs that the standard describes. Pig. 1 
is meant to represent a full grown, up to weight cock bird, 
and under him are just such legs as the judge should find 
under all large, well-balanced specimens. In color the thighs 
should be the same as the lower breast, although less rich 
and decided. The shanlis in young birds should be dark, 
approaching black. In adult birds they are usually of a 
pinkish hue or flesh color. Toes, same as shanks. How- 
ever, the toes in matured specimens show less of pink as a 
rule than the leg proper. 

In shape the legs should stand well apart, giving the 
specimen a broad, massive appearance when viewed from 
the front. The toes should be straight and well spread. The 
legs should be of fair length so as to hold the specimen well 
up in the air, but not so long as to make the bird look leggy; 
at the same time they should be a trifle longer than medium. 
If the legs are small in bone, giving the bird a feminine ap- 



pearance, the out is one-half to one. If the legs are too 
short or too long, the out is one-half to one and one-half. If 
set too close together, the out is one. If knock-kneed, the 
out is two. If the toes are crooked, one-half to one. If the 
ends of the toes are missing, the out is one-half to two. If 
the legs are In bad condition, that is, scaly or soiled, the 
out is one-half to one. If off in color, the out is one-half to 
one and one-half, as in degree. 

BRONZE TURKEY FEMALE. 

In Fig. 3 is shown the outline of a Bronze turkey female 
that for shape and markings in all sections has never been 
surpassed by any drawing that we have had the pleasure of 
seeing. Mr. Sewell has done himself great credit in the exe- 
cution of this chart. It is one of his masterpieces as the 
world's foremost delineator of fowls. 

It is not necessary for us to go into extensive detail in 
describing the different sections of the female Bronze turkey, 
as the shape of the male and female is alike, except that 
the cock has a more masculine look throughout. 

What we have said in regard to color, markings and 
shape of the male will apply equally as well to the female, 
the only exception being on back and breast. In these sec- 
tions instead of a rich, bronzy surface we should find on the 
outside of feathers a narrow edging of dull white or gray. A 
common defect in females is a brown or snuff color that 
sometimes traces on outer edge to the white lacing on the 
feathers of the back and breast. When this off-color appears 
it should be discounted one-half to two, as in degree. An- 
other section that :s more liable to show the brown or snuff- 
colored edging on females than on males is the back of the 
neck. Quite often they will show a stripe of brown and this 
defect should be discounted one-half to two, as in degree. 

It is not to be expected that we shall obtain as brilliant 
color on the wings and tails of females as we do on males, 
but our aim. is to mate together each year the very best of 
the fiock until such time as we find on them the same bril- 
liant color on wings and tail coverts as we do on our best 
exhibition males. I believe that if the amateur will study 
carefully the description of defects and our system of plac- 
ing a valuation on same, together with the two charts, he 
will be pretty well prepared to select and also mate his best 
specimens. THEO. HEWBS. 



WMWM 




TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT, 



An American Wild Fowl that In Domestication has been Brought to an Advanced Standard of Excellence and Serves 

highly Practical Purposes Standard Requirements of Different Sections—Mating to Produce 

Exhibition Specimens — General Advice on Care of Flock. 



By S. B. Johnston. 




HERE are a number of turkeys bred in this part 
of the state, so that we are generally well ac- 
quainted with the different varieties, although 
our work has been confined to the Bronze 
variety. There are five varieties besides the 
Bronze in the standard, namely the Narragan- 
sett, Buff, Slate, Black and White Holland. Then there is a 
white sport from the Bronze that is nearly as large as that 
variety and that has more desirable features than the White 
Holland, which is the smallest variety in the standard. The 
While Holland is a good bird, but is too small and will not 
bring the marketmau as profitable returns as the Bronze or 
Narragansett. I believe fewer people raise the Black 
Turkey than any other variety, as it is not liked by shippers 
on account of black pin feathers. Bronze, White Holland or 
Buff Turkeys are easier dressed and pin feathers are not 
evident. 

The Bronze Turkey is the largest of all varieties. It 
matures quickly, and by the holiday season will attain its 
full weight It is docile and easily kept at home. It is sal.! 
by some that the Bronze Turkey is not easily kept at home, 
but I have found that turkeys of any variety not having 
proper care will stray away. In hardiness and vigor there is 
no variety that can surpass the Bronze when properly bred. 
The wild turkey is so near in color to the Bronze that by 
carefully introducing new blood by wild hens the breeder 
can get hardiness and vigor unequaled. Turkeys that are 
hatched in April. May and June will begin laying the latter 
part of March or the first of April the next year. I believe 
that all varieties of turkeys in the same latitude begin laying 
albout thfe* same time. In this latitude they begin about the 
first of April more generally than in March. There seems 
to be always a good demand for turkeys of all varieties. It 
takes the Bronze variety about three years to get its full 
weight— in other words, to get its heaviest weight, while 
most other varieties attain their full weight by the second 
year. There are more Bronze Turkeys raised than all other 
varieties combined, which fact is proof enough that the 
Bronze has more good qualities than any other variety. 

RANGE AND HOUSING. 

Turkeys do not do well in small and crowded quarters. 
They can be raised to some extent on a small range, but such 
specimens generally are stunted in size and of poor color, 
just as is any other stock that is ill-kept. When the turkey 
was first found it ran wild in the forest, hence the love of 
range is about its first instinct and it will attain nearer per- 
fection in size and color when it has freedom. Some writers 
advocate the housing of turkeys, but in my experience I 
have not found this best. I have learned that a turkey hen 
can take care of its young better than either a domestic hen 
or myself, as the turkey mother seems to understand the 
little poults' chirpings and knows what they need. I have 
tried raising turkeys in coops and pens, keeping them close 
to the house, but with poor success. When the season is not 
too severe, turkeys can be given the run of the place, and 



it they have good quarters in which to roost at night, under 
bushes or something of that kind, and are looked after dur- 
ing the day for a few weeks, they will not need much food, 
but will do better and grow faster than those kept close to 
the house and fed from five to six times a day. Turkeys 
raised in this way aie less trouble, have better plumage and 
are more vigorous, and in the fall when the corn is being 
gathered they can be toled to the house to roost. Turkeys 
kept close to the house and not extra well fed will stray oft, 
hence the advantage is all with the one who raises his tur- 
keys away from the house. 

I have found that a roost built close to the ground is of 
great, advantage to young birds that are growing fast, as it 
often happens that promising youngsters are injured in 
flying from high roosts. I believe that a shed open to the 
south and closed to the north, east and west is of great 
advantage in severe weather in keeping turkeys dry and 
free from drafts. Such a shed makes a good feeding place 
when there is snovt^ or mud, and would make a good roosrt- 
ing place if the turkeys could be induced to roost in it. The 
great trouble is to keep them from roosting on top of the 
shed, but this can be prevented by running a two-foot wire 
netting around the top. I should not attempt to raise tur- 
keys on one or two acres of ground, but with proper care 
a forty-acre farm will give ample forage for five hundred 
birds. In these days it is a large flock that contains more 
than one hundred turkeys. They do best when divided into 
flocks of about fifty. 

STANDARD REQUIREMENTS OF DIFFERENT SECTIONS. 

In order to mate breeding pens correctly and to do jus- 
tice by his customers the breeder should understand the 
judging of fowls. To make this matter plain I shall take 
the bird, section by section, and cut for defects as would 
a judge when scoring in the show room. 

Symmetry — Symmetry, or typical carriage, is first in the 
scale of points and to be perfect in this respect a fowl must 
have perfect shape in every section. I prefer the term sym- 
metry to typical carriage. Symmetry means a perfect Join- 
ing together of all parts, thus making a symmetrical whole, 
while typical carriage may mean any pose the specimen 
might take regardless of symmetry. Symmetry is valued at 
eight points. So far as typical shape is concerned, if a bird 
loses one point in this section he is one-eighth bad; two 
points, one-fourth; one-half point one-sixteenth. If the 
bird is too nari'ow and fails to round out in breast, back and 
body, with the tail too short, as is usually the case with 
narrow birds, the cut should be from two to three points, 
according to degree. The standard calls for a deep, long 
body, handsomely rounded. When the legs are too long or 
too short and stand too close together the cut should be 
from one-half to one and one-half points. The weight clause 
is valued at fifteen points. Standard weights are: Adult 
cock, 36 pounds; yearling cock, 33 pounds; cockerel 25 
pounds; hen, 20 pounds; pullet, 16 pounds. 

Condition — Condition is valued at eight points and all 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



13 



that goes to make a perfect, healthy specimen is considered. 
If a bird show any signs of roup or cold it should be cut 
from one-half to one point; scaly legs, one-half to one; if 
head or wattles are torn from fighting, one-half to one point. 

Head — This section is valued at five points and the 
standard requires it to be long, broad and carunculated. The 
beak must be strongly set in the head and have a graceful 
curve; eyes should be bright, dark hazel and clear. Wattles 
and throat are valued at five points. The head should be a 
bright red, changeable to bluish white, and the beak a horn 
color. 

Neck — The neck is valued at six points, three for shape, 
three for color. It should be long and well curved back, 
with the plumage a light rich brilliant bronze. It is some- 
times too short and too straight, and If so it should be cut 
from one-half to one point, according to defect. 

Back — This is valued at ten points, five for shape, five 
for color. It should rise in a graceful curve from the neck 
to the center of back and then descend in a like manner to 
the tail. From the neck to the center of back the plumage 
should be a bright brilliant bronze, each feather terminating 
in a narrow black band; from che center of the back to the 
tail coverts the feathers should be dark, heavily edged with 
bronze. Common faults of 

the back are too narrow be- , 

tween the shoulders and too 
flait or straight. For these de- 
fects cut from one-half to two 
points. When the color ap- 
proaches clear black or 
brown or gray it should be 
cut from one to two points. 

Breast — ^The breast is also 
valued at ten points, five for 
shape, five for color. It should 
be very broad and full, in 
color a light brilliant bronze. 
If too narrow, failing to 
round out nicely, it should 
points. 




A riock of Bronze Turkeys on the Form of S, B. Jofjnston. 



be cut from one to three 
If black or brown in color, it should be cut one- 
half to two points, according to defect. 

Body and Fluff — The body is valued at ten points, five 
for shape and five for color. It should be long and hand- 
some; in color black, shaded with bronze, but not so rich as 
the breast. The Huff should be black, each feather ending 
in a wide black and bronze band, terminating in a white or 
gray edging. This section is seldom found faulty. If flat or 
wedge-shaped it should be cut from one-half to one and one- 
half points; if it approaches brown or black it should be cut 
from one to two points. 

Wings — The wings are valued at ten points, four for 
shape and six for color. They should be large, well folded, 
the wing bows of a brilliant bronze or greenish lustre; quill 
feathers evenly and distinctly barred, with parallel bars of 
black and white, extending the entire length of the feather. 
As it nears the center of the back the color changes to a 
bronze brown with very little white In it. White or brown 
oil the lower edge of quill feathers is very objectionable. 
The bar should run clear across, and as there is not one 
judge in ten who cuts for lack of this, it is a common fault. 
If the wings are too long and lap on the back at tips the 
specimen should be cut from one-half to one and one-half 
points. The coverts should be a rich bronze and terminate 
in a wide black band, forming a broad bronze band across 
the wing when folded. 

Tail — The tail is valued at ten points, four for shape and 
six for color. It should be black, irregularly penciled with 
lighc brown, ending in a broad black band with a wide edg- 
ing of white or gray, white preferred; coverts black or dark 



brown, irregularly penciled with light brown, ending in a 
wide black and bronze band extending across the feathers 
with a wide edging of white or gray, white preferred. Small, 
short legged birds are apt to have a tail too short for good 
symmetry, and the tail folded too closely. This should be 
cut from one to two points. Defects in color of tail are 
mostly found in the brown penciling. Some birds will have 
splotches of brown and scarcely any penciling. Sometimes 
brown appears between the white edging; and the black. 
The white should come up to the black without any inter- 
mixing of brown. When brown is found it should be cut 
severely. There should not be any buff tinge in the white. 

Legs and Toes — Legs and toes are valued at five points. 
The thighs should be long and stoutly built and the plumage 
a beautiful bronze. The toes should be stout and straight 
and of a pinkish hue; color of young birds, dark approaching 
black. Crooked or chalky legs and toes should be cut one to 
two points. If the legs are too short or too long, cut from 
one to two points. 

Color of Females— The entire plumage of the female 
should be similar to that of the male, but the colors are not 
so brilliant nor clearly defined. On the edging of the feath- 
ers is a dull white or gray. Note — Crooked keel or breast 

bone should be cut from one- 
— half to three points, 

MATING BRONZE TVRHEYS FOR 
■ ^ PRIZE WINNERS. 

If I were asked the most es- 
sential point for breeders, I 
should say first of all vigcr 
then size, then fine markings 
of plumage. The fancier must 
consider size, because, nine 
out of every ten want size 
first. It is not the rule, how- 
ever, that the biggest turkeys 
are the highest scorers, no 
matter how well they may be 
bred. To improve size, weight and markings, select the fin- 
est marked tom of gcwd big bone, with typical carriage, 
strong and vigorous, and mate him with the largest hens 
possible, no matter if they are not so well marked. Then the 
next season reverse the order and if you are so fortunate as 
to get well marked birds of both sexes, mate them in the 
following manner: For the females, select tall, rangy birds, 
with long, deep bodies, broad backs, and full rounded 
breasts, with as big bones, feet and legs as possible. In col- 
or, the head and wattles should be a rich red, but under dif- 
ferent circumstances the head is changeable to bluish white. 
The plumage of the neck and breast should be a rich, lus- 
trous bronze, the breast and back in front of wings showing 
a narrow lacing or edging of gray. The back is somewhat 
darker in color, as it shows a narrow black band across the 
feathers as they near the lesser tail coverts, these ending in 
a white or gray edging. The primaries and secondaries of 
the wing feathers must be as near standard as possible. 

I take it for granted that every breeder has the standard, 
for it is the book of authority, and sets forth clearly the dis- 
qualifications. I would say, however, that the white or gray 
bars should be about three-sixteenths of an inch in width 
witii the black or brown bars about three-eighths of an inch. 
They should be even and straight across the feathers. The 
tail sdiould be long and black, with pencilings of light bmwn 
across the feathers, the feathers ending in a broad, black 
band with au edging of dull white coming right up to the 
black. The feet and legs should be dark, approaching black. 
This is of loss importance in the females than in the male. 

The tom has more influence on shape and color of off- 
spring than has the female. He should be as near perfection 



14 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



in carriage and color of plumage as it is possible to get. He 
should be of medium size and of good vigor. In my opinion, 
the standard makes a mistake in calling for larger birds, as 
this detracts from their profit as egg-producers. A good, 
vigorous tom will mate with eighteen or twenty hens. As 
to the best age for breeding fowls, I use a two-year-old male 
and female one year old, or vice versa. Yearling turkey 
hens will lay more eggs than an older hen, but the two-year- 
old hen's eggs will hatch stronger poults. Hens are profit- 
able as a general thing until they are four years old. I have 
kept some good layers until they were six years old. As a 
rule turkeys are not profitable after they are four years old. 
Three to four-year-old tom turkeys usually become cross 
and irritable and are dangerous to have about where there 
are children. 

I have the best success with pullets from sixteen to 
twenty pounds, and old hens from eighteen to twenty-three 
pounds. They lay more fertile eggs than larger hens, are 
more active and healthy and make better mothers. Turkey 
hens do not all commence laying at once, and generally by 
the time ithe first layers want to sit the last ones to lay are 
ready to begin. Turkey hens should be carefully fed at the 
laying season if fed at all, as they will pick up on the range 
nearly all the food they need. If allowed to get too fat they 
will not lay until late. It is a good plan to feed meat two 
or three times during the month before you want them to 
lay, as it will have a tendency to make the eggs more fertile. 
Turkey eggs as a general thing are sure to hatch. I have 
had hens lay as many as four clutches of eggs in a season. 
Turkey eggs will hatch in twenty-eight days, but with me- 
dium sized turkeys it usually requires twenty-nine days, and 
eggs from very large hens frequently run over to thirty days. 
I have an eight-foot fence around about two acres on my 
home place that I use for the laying turkeys in the spring. 
I use boxes and barrels turned on the side for nests. 

AT HATCHING TIME. 

One should be very careful in setting turkey hens, as 
they are of a wild nature. It is best to try a hen, if one has 
valuable eggs, by giving her a few nest eggs for a day or so, 
then at night taking the nest eggs out and putting the good 
eggs in. Be careful to have the bottom of the nest firm and 
solid, so that the eggs will not roll about. Have the nest so 
formed that it fits the shape of the hen. In this way the 
eggs will all be the same distance from the hen's body and 
receive the same amount of heat. Sprinkle the eggs at sit- 
ting time and two cr three times during hatching time with 
Lambert's Death to Lice, or some other good insecticide. If 
your hen is gentle you might take the poults out of the nest 
as they hatch. This leaves more room for those that are to 



hatch. If the hen is inclined to be irritable, it is best to 
leave her alone, as she may get excited and trample on the 
poults. I have successfully used incubators for hatching 
turkey eggs, but when it comes to putting the poults in the 
brooders it is another matter. It is all right to hatch them 
in an incubator if one has hens to which he can give the 
young poults to be raised. I never feed my young turkeys 
until they are twenty-four to thirty-six hours old. They are 
first given grit, then some oatmeal or groats. I use very lit- 
tle soft food. When giving .soft food it is best to mix it with 
sweet milk and give only what they will eat up at one meal, 
as turkeys should never have sour food. Give table scraps 
and any green food you may have. Cottage cheese is a good 
food for poults and is particularly good with cut onion tops, 
salted and peppered to taste. Oat groats are highly recom- 
mended as a dry food for poults. Give millet seed, kaffir 
corn, wheat and then cracked corn. Feed these grains alter- 
nately. 

AT MARKETING TIME. 

I have found that winter feeding differs from summer 
feeding, as in cold weather poultry needs corn on account of 
its heating and fat-producing qualities. Turkeys on the 
I'ange in warm weather do not require much corn. If one 
has a large range the turkey crop is almost clear profit. Tur- 
keys intended for market should not be fed heavily until 
within about two weeks of selling time, when they should be 
given all the corn they will eat, with a change of food as 
often as possible so that they will not tire of the corn before 
they are fat. Make corn their main food. 

The average price for turkeys on the market is eight 
cents per pound. When stockmen get five cents per pound 
for hogs and cattle they make a good profit. It does not take 
anything like the amount of food to produce turkey meat 
that it does to produce cattle or hogs, and it is very seldom 
that the turkey grower gets less than eight cents per pound. 
On the other hand, it is seldom that the cattle grower gets 
more than four cents per pound for his beef or pork. When 
turkeys are properly raised they are a benefit to the crop, 
instead of a waste, as they destroy numerous insects. In 
California turkeys are rented out to men who have vine- 
yards, who turn the turkeys loose among the vines to de- 
stroy insects. Turkeys do not require to be fed on a grain 
ration until within a few weeks of marketing time, as they 
get their living from the gleanings of the field. In this way 
they get a large frame, which the grower can fatten when 
selling time comes. Turkeys should be fed away from other 
poultry. Sandy or gravelly land is the most suitable for 
turkey raising. Low, swampy land is not desirable, as it 
creates rheumatism, to say nothing of the filth. 

S. B. JOHNSTON. 



SUCCESSFUL TURKEY RAISING 



with the Minimum of Labor^Laylng House for Turkeys-Hatching the Poults-Housing Turkeys with Poults 
Feeding Young Turkeys— Roosts for the Young Birds-Shipping Crates for Pairs, Trios and Pens. 



By Mrs. M. L. Slogleton. 



AM aware; that no two breeders manage their tur- 
keys exactly alike, in fact, there are no iron-clad 
rules in turkey raising. Our surroundings differ so 
from those of others, that it is useless to formulate 
rules I hat would be impossible for them to follow, but 
there is one safe rule for beginners. No matter what 
your environments may be, start with the very best stock 
you are able to buy. If you have money enough to buy 
a good pair only, do not spend it for a trio or pen. If you 
can spare the money for first-class birds, of course a trio 
or pen is desirable. To the thoroughly equipped breeders 
who have years of experience behind them, my methods 
will appear crude, doubtless. It is not for the breeder of 
experience that this article is written, but for those whose 
advantages are not great and who must struggle perhaps 
for years to gain the knowledge that will make them suc- 
cessful turkey raisers. 

I learned several years ago that I had neither the time 
nor strength to follow the hens around and hunt thsir eggs 
in fence corners and hedge rows, so I had a laying house 
built for them. It is not a very elaborate affair, but it 
accommodates them very comfortably. A week or two be- 
fore I think it time for them to hunt nests, I have them 
driven every morning into this house. In this way they 
become accustomed to going in and usually by the time they 
begin to lay they will go without being driven. When the 
turkeys lay from twenty-five to thirty eggs, I set them under 
domestic hens, putting nine or ten under each hen. We find 
that there will be as many poults as one turkey ben ought 
to carry. Of course you have to use a great many domestic 
hens where there are many turkey eggs to hatch, but iu pays, 
I think, as they hatch so much better for me than do the 
turkeys. I do not set the first turkeys that get broody, but 
break them up and let them lay a second clutch. By the 
time the first turkey eggs have been incubated two or three 
weeks, the last hens will probably be getting broody. 
SETTING THE TURKEY HEN. 
In the meantime, I arrange my turkey nests, which are 
empty barrels, as I consider them among the very best nests. 
I saw out two or three of the staves about half the length of 
the barrel, that is, just below the middle hoop. I stand the 
barrel in the corner of one of my poultry houses with the 
open end up, because I think setting the eggs on the ground 
causes bad results. By making the nest on the closed end 
of the barrel the eggs do not come in direct contact with the 
damp ground, and they are yet near enough to obtain suffi- 
cient moisture. Tack an old piece of carpet or gunny sack 
on the barrel over the opening and another over the top. Put 
in a lot of new straw and shape it into a solid, but rather 
shallow nest, and it is ready for the turkey. In the evening 
I remove her from her old nest and putting her gently in tho 
barrel, drop the curtain over the opening. I have previously 
put a few chicken eggs in the nest so if she is restless and 
inclined to stand up at first, there will be no harm done. The 
second day I raise the curtain and put food and water near 
the barrel, but it she does not come off, I let her alone for a 



day longer, and if she still refuses to come off, I lift her out. 
After she has eaten, I see that she goes back on the nest. 
When she has become accustomed to it, I lift the curtain up 
so that she can come out into the poultry yard and dust and 
pick around, always being careful to see that she goes back 
on the nest. I arrange a number of these nests in the dif- 
ferent houses to accommodate the different broods that come 
off. A day or two before the little ones are due to hatch, I 
remove the eggs from one of the chicken hens, putting them 
under the turkey hen. When the little poults appear she is 
just as proud of them as though she had done all the work 
of incubating. As the little poults get dry and strong, I 
remove them to a flannel lined basket in the house. When 
evening comes, if the turkey is a very gentle mother, I carry 
them back and let them remain with her, as the warmth 
from her body strengthens them, but if she is a foolish old 
hen, I wrap the basket warmly and keep them in the house. 
When they are all dry and strong enough, I remove the 
mother turkey and her little ones to their future home. It 
is this home I wish to tell you about most particularly. 

HOVSINC THE TURKEY AND POULTS. 

I do not remember to have read an article on turkey 
raising in which the writer did not suggest that a nice, shady 
orchard was a desirable place for turkey coops. Now I 
admit an orchard is all right, provided it is located where 
you can run out and look after the young turkeys at all 
times, but when one has all the work of a large house on 
one'.^ shoulders and cannot get any help that is worthy the 
name, then I say most emphatically, don't. Here at Elm.- 
hurst is a large, shady yard at the west side of a build- 
ing which has a porch almost the full length of the dining 
room and kitchen. A door opens out of each of these rooms 
on the porch. At the end of the porch is the pantry, which 
has a window in the west side, so if I am in either the dining 
room or kitchen, I can step out on the porch and see my tur- 
keys, but if T am in the pantry, I can look through the win- 
dow and see them, for it is in this side yard under the elm 
trees that my turkey coops are placed. "Turkey coops in 
the yard!" I hear some housekeeper exclaim. Yes, for my 
turkey coops are very neat affairs and do not detract very 
much from the beauty and neatness of our yard. The coops 
are renewed each year, that is, I turn the last year's turkey 
coops over to the chickens and get new ones, because for 
some reason my turkeys always thrive better in new coops. 
These coops cost only twenty-five cents each and a little work 
for they are dry goods boxes sawed slanting, so that they are 
only about half as high at the back as they are in front. 
There are boards nailed on to extend over the front and rear. 
The lower boards are taken off the front of the coop and bat- 
tens nailed on for the door, which slips back in place and is 
fastened with a wooden button which is just above the door. 
About six inches above the door another board is removed 
and screen wire nailed on to ventilate the coop. 

FEEDING AND CARING FOR POULTS. 

Now we have the turkey hen and her brood in a nice new- 
coop under the elm trees where just enough sunlight filters 



16 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 




through to keep the ground dry, and not enough to hurt the 
tenderest poult. The next thing is to feed them. For the 
first day or two I give them nothing but light bread soaked 
in new milk and pressed as dry as possible, with plenty ot 
black pepper sprinkled over it. After that I feed them 
almost entirely on egg corn bread soaked in sweet milk, in 
which is mixed raw egg. Right here I want to say, there is 
nothing better for young turkeys than raw eggs. I learned 
several years ago that they are far superior to boiled eggs. I 
know that curd or clabber cheese is highly recommended by 
a great many persons, but I have found it a very injurious 
food for poults. I have believed this for several years, but 

nevertheless, 1 com- 
menced to feed spar- 
ingly last spring,and 
in less than two 



weeks I lost five or 
six poults, and in 
every case but one I 
found the curd pack- 
ed in the entrails. 
The other case was 
enlargement of the 
gall bladdea-, caused 
from indigestion. 

Before putting the 

hen and her brood in 

Fig. I— Coop for two turkeys, showing lath at ^j^g foop I cover the 

top over which the cloth partition ^^^^^ ' ^.^j^ ^^^ 

hangs, and the lath at bottom 

to which it Is tacked. or straw, otherwise 

there is danger of 
the heu injuring herself from slipping on the boards. I once 
had a valuable turkey almost ruin herself in this way. The 
young ones, however, get injured much more easily on the 
straw. I-keep the mother and turks in the coop for a day or- 
two, unless the weather is very mild, and then I stake them 
out in an open place in front of the coops. This is done by 
tying a stout twine, such as fleece or wool is tied with at 
shearing time, to a short stake and driving the stake even 
with the top of the ground. I measure the twine so that it 
will not be long enough to wrap around any tree or shrub, 
but near enough to the coop so that she can go in, but not 
around it. The string I tie on the leg, just above the foot. 
The hen will work and pull at the string for awhile, Dut she 
soon becomes accustomed to it, and when I take her out to 
tie her each morning she seems perfectly satisfied. This 
way has a great many advantages to me over the old way of 
putting them in a pen in the orchard. In the first place, the 
hen cannot kill the poults by jumping in and out. Secondly, 
they are right in sight, where I can give them my personal 
attention at all times. Third, if a rain comes up, I run out, 
untie the hen and put her inside the coop. The youug ones 
rush up for the food I give them and I put as many in with 
each hen as I think she ought to have, because you see I have 
several of these families in the yard and one mother is the 
same as another to them. By the time the rain comes, the 
hens with their broods are all safely housed, for it only 
takes a tew minutes to attend to all of them. Fourth, by the 
time I give them their liberty, which is not till the poults are 
three or four weeks old, they have become accustomed to 
their roosting place, and the flocks are usually running to- 
gether. The hens never separate, but all come in at night, 
bringing the whole drove with them. It is very seldom that 
they fail to come up, but if they do, I go after them and 
drive them up, because if they form the habit of staying out, 
it is almost impossible to break them. 

When they outgrow their coops and show signs of want- 
ing to fly up to roost, I drive them into the turkey house, 



which is well ventilated, where I have roosts made about two 
feet from the ground. I do this for fear of sudden rains in 
the night, for I am not strong enough to get up and cai-ry 
turkeys in out of the wet. I used to do such things in the 
past when my coops were kept under a shady tree in the 
orchard, but I realized that it was only a question of time 
when I should be compelled to give up the business entirely, 
or keep the turkeys where they could have my personal at- 
tention at all times. 

When they are a few weeks old I feed them any small 
grain that I have, but the principal food is corn chops damp- 
ened just sufficient to cause the fine part to adhere to the 
coarse. As they get older and until they are sold, they are 
fed almost entirely on corn. They must be well supplied 
with grit and oyster shells. When I first commenced to 
raise turkeys in such close quarters, I was told by a.ll my 
neighbors that I would stunt them so that they would never 
recover from it, but as I raise the heaviest turkeys that have 
ever been raised in this part of the country, my friends have 
quit talking-. 

I have been asked what preparation I give my turkeys 
for the S'how room, and my answer is, none whatever. From 
the time they ar.<» four or five weeks old until they are 
shipped to customers, they have the range of a one-hundred- 
and-sixty-acre farm, and as soon as they are old enough to 
withstand the hard rains at night, they are made to roost 
outside in the open air. If during the winter we have deep 
snows, and protracted cold spells, we drive them into the 
barn and allow them to roost there until the weather mod- 
erates. Managed tliis way, there is no danger of them con- 
tracting colds and roup when being shipped a long distance. 

SHIPPING CRATE FOR TURKEYS. 

Seeing the forlorn and bedraggled condition of turkeys 
shipped in pairs and trios to our station, made me wonder if 
the turkeys I shipped to customers looked the same when 
they arrived at their destination, and I determined to devise 
some means of preventing them from picking each other and 
breaking their feathers while on the journey. The crate I 
use is my own invention, as I have never seen one anything 
like it, and while it is a very simple affair, it answers the 
purpose admirably. I use narrow cloth-lined crates for 
shipping turkeys, making the crate for a pair just a little 
wider than for a single bird, and for a trio a little wider than 
for a pair. Any style of crate will do, but the ends should 
be upright pieces so as to have something to nail partitions 
to. In making a coop for a pair, after the frame is made 
and before it is lined, nail on two laths lengthwise of the 
crate, one the width 
of a lath below the 
top, the othei 
against the bottom. 
Nail them firmly to 
the upright piece at 
either end. These 
laths are just slant- 
ing enough to show 
the space at one end 
to be about twice the 
width of the other. 
When you have the 
laths firmly in place, 
take a piece of your lining twice the depth of the crate, 
drop it over the top lath, tacking it firmly to the floor on 
each side of the bottom lath. Now you have a good, firm 
partition, one that will sway gently with the motion of the 
birds, but keep them apart as effectually as a stone wall. 
If you wish to ship a male and female, have the space on 
one side of the partition a little wider than the other side. 




Fig. 2 — Showing coop for trio, with cloth 
partitions in place. 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



17 



as the malG is always broader across the back. Make it just 
wide enough for them to rise up and sit down comfortably. 
When putting them in the crate, place the tom with head to- 
ward the wide space at one end and the head of the hen 
toward the wide space at the other end, having their heads 
at opposite ends. There is no danger of fighting, and the 
space being wider at one end and narrowing down at the 
other, there is no chance for them to turn around, which 
I have seein them do in a narrow crate that is the same 
width. In shipping a trio, follow the same general direc- 
tions, having the wide end of the wide compartment and the 
narrow ends of the side compartments at one end of the 
coop, and at the other end, the narrow end of the center 
compartment and the wide ends of the side compartments. 
Have the middle space somewhat larger than the side spaces 
and place the tom in it, with a hen on either side. I believe 



the same plan could be followed in shipping a pen, making 
the crate wider and adding two more partitions. The crate 
must not be lined until the partitions are put in, because 
there is no room to nail. 

No matter how you raise or ship your turkeys, be honest 
iu your dealings with your customers. In corresponding 
with them, describe your birds honestly, sending a tail, wing 
and covert feather. If your birds are well marked, the cus- 
tomer can tell it by the feathers, but they have to depend on 
you for correct weight, shape, etc. Remember always, the 
golden rule and judicious advertising are the only safe rules 
to follow in poultry culture. If you do not sell all your birds 
this year or next, you will some time, and if you do, you 
will not be ashamed to look your customers in the face if 
you should meet them. 

MRS. MARY SINGLETON. 



UNSUCCESSFUL TURKEY BREEDING. 



Frequent Causes of Lack of Success May be Traced to the Parent Stock— Introduction of New Blood Often Dis- 
misses Disease from the Flock— A Device to Prevent Turkeys Flying Over a Fence. 



From Rhode Island Experiment Station Report. 




,E HIVE been surprised to find how great a Pro- 
portion of those who attempt to raise t>ir- 
keys use small and immature birds for 
breeders. Many kill their earliest and best 
birds for the market and lieep for breeding 
those that are too small or too late to be salable. They kill 
the goose that lays the golden eggs. In buying a new gob- 
bler or a few hens to change the blood they choose late 
hatched, immature turkeys because they cost less. The rea- 
son sometimes given for this is that old hens are too cunning 
about stealing their nests and that young turkeys lay earlier. 
This practice is not confined to the poorest and least intelli- 
gent people, as would be expected, but is followed by those 
well informed and who appreciate and pay for a well-bred 
horse or cow. If such a course were followed with horses 
and cattle the best stock in existence would be ruined in a 
few generations. Many who know that turkeys two years 
old or older give the strongest and largest young, continue 
to kill off the young hens for market after breeding from 
them one season. There seems to be a dread of having some- 
thing too old or unsalable left on their hands. To breed 
from immature or poor specimens is to violate one of the 
first laws of breeding. Selection of the best for generations 
has given us the improved and most profitable breeds of 
stock. The hereditary influence of such selection is of great 
value. The most inferior bird out of a flock of such blood 
may 'throw back' and breed very flne stock and do better 
than a much finer specimen from a poorly bred strain, but 
the repeated selection of inferior birds for a number of gen- 
erations makes this inferiority hereditary. 

"The future stock depends almost entii-ely on the parent 
birds or their ancestry. If valuable birds are used for breed- 
ing, their offspring will be like them and amply repay the 
extra expense. The best are none too good and are the 
cheapest. 

"Crandall Brothers, previously mentioned as having used 
western gobblers furnished by Mr. Vose, raised so many 
more turkeys in consequence that they estimate the benefit 
derived the first season at $100. It would have been econ- 



omy for them to have paid $50 for the two gobblers rather 
than use the kind of stock they had previously bred from. 
This expc.'.diture would have paid the first season, to say 
nothing about the improvement in their breeding stock for 
the future. Many breeding turkeys are over-fat in the 
spring — have been overfed or given too fattening food. Quite 
frequently they die at this time as the result of over-feed- 
ing. The progeny of over-fat birds are less vigorous. Late 
hatched hens that are growing all the time need more food; 
cannot store up a surplus and lay earlier because they are 
thin. Feed the old hens clover and less carbonaceous food 
in the latter part of winter and they will give better satisfac- 
tion. Corn is all right when turkeys can find their own 
green food and insect ration to go with it, but when they get 
little exercise and can get nothing else to eat they become 
abnormally fat. 

"If a turkey becomes sick and is allowed to roam with 
the others, and eat, drink and roost in the same places, the 
others will probably have that trouble very soon. If a flock 
becomes diseased, the land which they wander over may be- 
come contaminated and infect other flocks that occupy the 
same gi-ound. Therefore stamp out disease when it first ap- 
pears. Let every turkey raiser be a board of health; quar- 
antine or kill and bury deep all sick fowls and disinfect 
what they have contaminated. Prevention of the spread of 
disease is possible. Doctoring very sick turkeys is rarely 
practicable. If turkeys are kept where they may drink from 
stagnant pools in the barnyard, near the pig pen, privy 
vault, or from the sink drain, sudden and fatal attacks of 
bowel trouble should be expected among them. A running 
stream is of great value on a turkey farm. If brine is poured 
out and they drink it or they pick up pieces of salt, salt meat 
or salt fish, death usually follows. 

"In shingling or 'boarding' turkeys a thin board or 
shingle, in which holes are bored, is fastened across the 
shoulders of the bird by soft cords, tapes or strips of cloth. 
When of the proper shape and the holes are in the right 
place, if the cords are not tied too tight, they may be worn 
twelve months without injury to the turkey. By this method 



18 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



1 ? 



S" 

Rhode Island Pattern 




tliey may be confined to one field as easily as sheep. This is 
better and surer than clipping one wing. The only objection 
to it is that turkeys thus hampered are almost at the mercy 
of dogs. When the board is first adjusted the turkeys try to 
free themselves, but they usually accept the situation in less 

than an hour and do not 
seem to mind it afterward. 
Various shaped boards are 
used. The diagrams show 
two styles and give the di- 
mensions. 

"The strings are usu- 
ally tied on the top of 
the board. In fastening 
th.3 western style the string is passed down through one 
hole in front of the wing close to the body and around 
under the wing and up through the other hole and is tied 
on top of the board. Mr. Barbee uses a board ten inches 
long and five inches wide and fastens the strings under the 
wings. An ordinary shingle is strong enough for most hens, 
but large gobblers require something stronger and light bar- 
rel staves are often used. In those that we have seen three- 
eighths-inch augur holes were used. Some use a large gim- 
let for making the holes."' 

Mrs. B. G. Mackey, the well-known Bronze Turkey 



breeder, has the following to offer in regard to this subject: 
"It is quite a problem training the turkeys to stay at 
home. Last year I tied a man's large straw hat on the back 
of my turkeys with young ones. I made a hole on each side 
of the rim at the crown, ran cloth strings through the holes 
and tied the string around each wing. It was laughable to 
see the hens at first. They tried to fly, they jumped up in 
the air, ran forward and backward, but when they found 
themselves securely fastened to the hats they finally accepted 




o 

Q 



^ _ _ 



G- 
GI. 



^-u^- 



-i 




> 



Western Style. 



the situation. Living on the public road, I had to answer a 
good many times the question, "Why do you put hats on 
your turkeys ■.'" The hat is much better than a hoard. The 
crown prevents the hen from going through the fence, and 
in a rainstorm the brim is a protection to the poults." 



TURKEYS ON FISHERS ISLAND, 



Turkey Raising Profitable—They are Not Difficult to Breed under Proper Conditions Wide Range Essential 
Half-wild Turkeys—Selecting Breeding Stock— hatching and Raising Poults— Profits. 



By E. M. £ W. Ferguson. 



1 FT ALWAYS gives us great pleasure to write anything 
^, pertaining to Bronze turkeys, and especially to our 
V turkeys, for our work with them has been produc- 
tive of much satisfaction, not to speak of a very con- 

J L siderable profit. 

While we shall make this article chiefly a history of 
efforts in turkey breeding, rearing and exhibiting and a brief 
treatise upon our methods, we realize that all turkey raisers 
have not the same environment and will endeavor to write in 
such a manner as will be interesting and instructive lo every 
breeder wherever he may be and by whatever conditions sur- 
rounded. 

It seems to be, an established fact that turkey raising in 
this country, particularly in the east, is on the decline; 
where years ago a flock numbering one or two hundred was 
a profitable adjunct on the majority of country farms, now 
these birds are found but rarely and then in flocks of a dozen 
or less, tolerated rather than fostered. The cause is hardly 
apparent; the thickening settlements have not yet en- 
croached upon the solitude of many a back-lying farm where 
green pastures and sheltering woodlands offer ready for use, 
the best possible food and shelter. True, they may damage 
to some extent the growing crops, but they will render ser- 
vices much more valuable than what they destroy, in the 
wholesale destruction of bugs and insects which threaten 
the farmer on every hand and which they incessantly pursue 
as the principal article of their diet. 

We are sometimes told that turkeys are difficult to raise 



and lack a strong constitution, but common sense, backed 
by our actual experience, tells us that such is not the case. 
In fact if they be allowed to indulge their natural desire for 
a wide range and outdoor life the year round, and are prop- 
erly bred, anything but strength and hardiness in their 
make-up would seem well-nigh impossible. But where such 
cases exist it seems to us that the cause must be found in the 
absence of one or other of these conditions. 

We believe that a wide range is very essential and that 
although turkeys can be reared and kept in an enclosure of 
moderate area, a much less percentage will reach the highest 
development in size, shape or color. With this condition 
provided and a lack of vigor prevailing an inherent weak- 
ness must be present in the blood of the parent stock. This 
may be traceable to indiscriminate inbreeding or unwise 
mating. In no other domesticated fowl does deterioration so 
closely follow careless breeding, and for a farmer to breed 
the same small flock year after year with no further atten- 
tion than is required to select the largest and fattest for his 
Thanksgiving dinner, is to invite failure by the most expedi- 
tious course. 

Mistakes in adding new blood may prove equally demor- 
alizing; in fact, we can cite cases that have come within our 
own observation where a breeder has sadly depreciated the 
value of his stock by adding a bird which, apparently strong 
and healthy in itself, had an inherited weakness caused by 
poor breeding. We speak of these matters not to discourage 
the prospective breeder or the disheartened farmer, but to 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



19 



emphasize the advisability of close adherence to the methods 
that have proved successful and the value of a careful study 
of the principles involved. 

Some years ago we managed to secure at heavy expense 
a flock of genuine wild turkeys, which, although purchased 
for the purpose of crossing with our Bronze to make a better 
foraging market bird, have proved to be of inestimable value 
for infusing new vigor into run-down fiocks, and we sell 
every year a large number of toms for this purpose. The 
half-wild make a market fowl par excellence; they are rapid 
growers, carrying a considerable amount of fine-grained 
meat, and support themselves almost entirely throughout the 
year by foraging. When crossed on the pure Bronze as a 
strengthening agent, reducing the wild blood to one-fourth, 
the increased stamina is the only apparent effect. 

SELECTING BREEDING STOCK. 

The selection of breeding stock with us begins as soon 
as the young turks are given their first food in the fall, say 
the first of October, when any bird that gives particular evi- 
dence of lusty good health and sturdy growth becomes an 
object of especial interest to be carefully watched as it 
matures and finally selected for use if it has constantly 
maintained its robust health; but it is discarded if the 
slightest evidence of weakness has been detected. 

The final selection is made usually in January when the 
stock is at its best. We have found that one male to every 
twelve females is about the right proportion, and we advise 
that at least two males be allowed to run in the same flock 
in view of the fact that occasionally a hen will refuse to 
mate with a certain tom, but can readily agree with another, 
and also to safeguard against loss should one of the males 
be, or at any time become, wholly or partially impotent. 
When one recollects that the female is served by the male 
only once in a season, the wisdom of this plan is obvious. 
But care must be taken to use toms that have been accus- 
tomed to each other's society and that agree, else it will be 
necessary to confine o"ne each day while the other runs with 
the hens, changing them every night. 

We endeavor to get our breeders in a condition of me- 
dium flesh, as a fat bird never gives satisfactory results. 
For this purpose we consider oats to be the best food, and it 
is fed exclusively so long as food is required during the 
breeding season. 

When we began with turkeys we did all manner of 
things supposed to contribute to their welfare, but we have 
gradually given up trying to do what they are better able to 
do themselves, until now we leave them pretty much to their 
own devices and find the results far more gratifying. 

THE TURKEY AND HER POULTS. 

Occasionally it happens that two or three hens are found 
laying in the same nest, a proceeding which is usually dis- 
covered by the slightly different color of the eggs. In this 
event we remove all eggs as laid, substituting a couple of 
china eggs or duck eggs to guard against a change of nest. 
When one hen begins to sit we give her a full quota (fifteen 
to eighteen eggs) and confine the other hens for a few days 
after which they will begin laying again in another nest. If, 
however, the discovery is made after incubation has begun, 
we prefer to let them sit together unless we can ascertain 
unobserved that there is but one sitting of eggs. And we 
will here state that we always try to make our visits at a 
time when the hen is absent, otherwise she may become wor- 
ried and give up her nest. When the hatch is complete, we 
provide a little nourishment for the young turks in the form 
of stale bread moistened in milk; this will assist them to 
gain strength until they are well on their feet, after which 



time they get their food from the earth and air. Occasion- 
ally we find one weaker than the others, by reason of slow- 
ness in hatching, which is unable to leave the nest with its 
mates; such a one we care for until it is strong enough to 
go with the hen. After they are all able to hustle about, we 
put poults and hen out in the low bush with which the 
Island is plentifully supplied, and pay no further attention 
to them until well into the autumn, when we begin to get 
them together for the fall feeding. 

As they grow and develop through the late summer and 
early fall they gradually form into several large flocks which 
wander about together under the guidance of the old toms, 
each flock having its own roosting place, generally at least 
a mile from that of any other. In October they are found to 
be in excellent condition and require but little feeding to fit 
them for the Thanksgiving market. At this time they are 
very suspicious of any one who tries to approach them, but 
soon become reconciled to the presence of the feeder and will 
surge around him with such force as to endanger his foot- 
ing. Corn is the only food given at this season and as kill- 
ing time approaches we feed them all they will eat. 

The greater part of the market stock is devoted to the 
Thanksgiving trade and is shipped to private families all 
over the country; but there is always a certain number that 
are not fit at that time and which are reserved for the 
Christmas season. By furnishing each year a very fancy 
grade we And ready sale for all we have to dispose of for 
table use at a considerable advance upon the highest market 
quotation. These are carefully picked and drawn, the Leads, 
shanks and last joint of wing being removed, and are then 
packed in clean boxes, in which they are shipped direct to 
the residence of the consumer. 

December usually ushers in the advance orders for 
breeding and exhibition birds, in which we always do a large 
and satisfactory business. Having so large a number to 
select from (all of which are selected specimens from the 
hundreds that we raise), we find little difficulty in filling the 
most exacting order, and it is seldom that we receive a com- 
plaint. 

Although our business in turkey eggs for hatching was 
very satisfactory, we decided to discontinue their sale three 
years ago and have had no cause to regret our decision. We 
find it far more profitable to set every egg ourselves and sell 
the stock instead. In shipping the birds we know that the 
purchaser will get full value for his money, while in selling 
eggs too much depends upon various conditions. 

PREPARING FOR EXHIBITION. 

Our method of preparing turkeys for the show room is 
simple indeed. It consists wholly in taming the bird and 
getting it accustomed to being handled. Our turkeys com- 
ing from a range of over five thousand acres are as fit as only 
a free, wild life can make them, full of rich, red blood, which 
sustains their vigor and spirits through the longest ti'ip and 
the tedious, weakening confinment of the exhibition hall. 
They have a hard, smooth and wonderfully brilliant plumage 
together with that robust development and noble carriage 
that is never found in a turkey raised in confinement. 

We select the birds that we are going to show about two 
weeks in advance of the time when they are to be exhibited, 
and always take up more than we expect to show to insure 
having our full entry in case one or more of the birds be- 
comes damaged in plumage or otherwise. These are han- 
dled with the utmost care, as it is very easy for a struggling 
bird to break a number of wing fiights or to strip feathers 
from its thigh, where a careless handler is almost sure to 
get his grip. 



20 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



PROFITS. 

To any one who has read the foregoing paragraphs it 
must be evident that turkey raising as it is managed here — 
and we know of no reason why our methods and success can 
not be duplicated in almost any locality — is much more prof- 
itable than any other farm crop that the farm can produce. 
Any one who is apt at figures can easily figure out the possi- 
ble profit to be derived in his own locality which will be gov- 
erned by the cost of food, the area of the range available, 



and the price that can be obtained for the product. 

We would say in concluding that as many questions will 
doubtless arise in the mind of the reader which have not 
beer clearly answered in this article, we shall be glad to see 
them at our farm, where we shall always be pleased to ex- 
plain every detail of the business and where we can give far 
better instruction verbally with the birds and their home to 
illustrate our words. 

E. M. & W. FERGUSON. 










■<e- 



■N.\- 



-:^^?.^ 



Tisar flr B05To« 



"Miss Alice," a Bronze Turkey Hen, that Traveled Two Thousand Miles to Shows, and Never Was Defeated. 

Owned by t. M. & W. Ferguson, 



TURKEYS AND PiN-MONEY, 



Raising Common Turkeys for Market Brings a Supply of Pin-Money to Many a Farmer's Wife— Breeding Thorough- 
bred Birds Means an Increased Supply—Methods Employed by a Successful 
Woman Fancier of Bronze Turkeys. 



By Mrs, F. A. Margrave, 



OME SIX years ago. miuli to my ilis:ippontment, 
we moved to the farm, and a friend presented 
me with a trio of Bronze turlveys of just or- 
dinary breeding. This trio of Ijird.s, with 
£_*v-J some Barred Roclvs, became a great con- 
solation to me in my loneliness. From early childhood 
I was not fond of the farm, with its many laborious tasks 
calling one from early morning to late at night. Perhaps in 




wisdom. You know one never really is wise till he becomes 
conscious of the fact that he knows but little. My first 
stepping stone to success in raising turkeys was in supply- 
ing myself with poultry journals and books pertaining to 
turkey raising compiled from the experience of other turkey 
breeders. 

Last spring a neighbor became very enthusiastic about 
turkeys and started in the spring with nine hens and one 




The rioch of Mrs. Margrave. 



the east one's peaceful rest is not disturbed so early and so 
late — I hope not. But here in the west we still display the 
hustling nature inherited from our forefathers of a gener- 
ation ago, and time has not much decreased it. Perhaps 
this is the reason that in 1890 Illinois ranked first in turkey 
raising with 1,043,947 turkeys to her credit; Iowa, second, 
940,849; Missouri, third, 928,751; Kansas, fourth, 530,397, and 
Texas, fifth, 535,916. 

My chosen occupation, teaching, took me early in life to 
my coveted place of abode — the city. There I taught for a 
number of years previous to taking up housekeeping and 
poultry raising. 

All women will understand from intuition why I took up 
poultry raising, and especially the raising of turkeys. But 
for fear the men may not giiess aright, I will say it was to 
replenish my empty pocketbook. I greatly missed my regu- 
lar monthly income and took this method of overcoming my 
loss. Pardon this personal reference, but I feel my case 
doea not ditter materially from that of a thousand other 
women who may read this book and my experience will per- 
haps be of help to them in solving their problems. 

MAKING THE START. 

I lost two of that first trio, one hen and the torn, and I 
raised nine out of the eleven that hatched— seven pullets 
and two toms. During the raising of these I was gaining 



torn, boasting that she would raise as many turkeys as her 
neighbor. The season passed and "turkey gathering" time 
came. A flock of twenty-three turkeys was the result of 
her season's efforts, besides which she lost part of her breed- 
ing stock. 

Conversing with her one day, I said: "What was the 
trouble?" 

'O, I don't know, but when hatched, I put them in a pen 
and the mother in a coop and tried to keep them there till 
four or five weeks old, and they just kept dropping off till 
they were nearly all gone." 

"What did you feed':'" 

"Anything and everything they would eat — the same I 
fed my chickens." 

"Did you keep grit for them?" 

"Grit? No, what do they need grit for? I never give 
my chickens any." 

"Do you take any poultry paper?" 

"No, I am so busy I would not get time to read it and 
bssides I had put my money into turkeys and had none to 
spare for a paper." 

"Did you ever raise turkeys before?" 

"Some little, but I never kept only two or three hens and 
a torn and they took care of themselves." 

Dear reader, this woman failed and condemns turkey 
raising except for only those who are "lucky." There is 



22 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



no such thing as luck in the poultry business. It is all good 
common sense rightly applied, with labor, pluck and per- 
severance to help crown your efforts with success. The old 
adage, "Anything is easy it you know how," is a good one. 
However, you must remem'ber there is no business that does 
not have its obstacles to be met. 

I should advise any one who has not raised turkeys to 
get the cheaper grade of some thoroughbred variety you 
fancy, and learn with them. Then if you have losses it will 
not bankrupt you, and when you have mastered the details 
necessary to raising these successfully you can invest in 
birds of fine plumage and other fine points possessed by 
fancy fowls, to the extent of your much enlarged purse — 
never forgetting, however, that there is always something 
to bo learned. 

For those who have had success in raising common tur- 
keys and who wish to start with some special variety of 
thoroughbred turkeys, I should advise them to get a pair, 
trio or pen of the best your purse will afford and apply to 
them your knowledge of care and feeding gained while rais- 
ing ihe common birds. 

BErtEFIT TO CROWING CROPS. 

Tui-keys by nature are prone to wander over the tields 
for a great share of their living, thereby gaining a healthy, 
robust constitution and at the same time ridding the fields 
and meadows of grass and weed seeds, grasshoppers and 
other insects that are harmful to growing crops. This cer- 
tainly is converting evil into good. They will do this in 
the fall of the year when the corn is ripe and never disturb 
the ears of corn. Mine do, but I always feed my turkeys at 
home some. 

My reason for selecting the Bronze variety was on 
account of their beautiful plumage, large size, hardy consti- 
tution and their ability to obtain a great share of their liv- 
ing by foraging. 

The Bronze turkey is more generally bred than any other 
variety of turkey, but there are other beautiful and profit- 
able varieties that are growing in popularity. 

From those first seven pullets that I raised, mated with 
a torn not akin, I the next year raised 170 — a number I have 
never been able to quite reach since, because then I did not 
sell eggs. I closed out everything that year and bought 
fancy birds for the season's breeding stock. In no year have 
I fallen below the one hundred mark. 

I have never had those heart-rending scenes of disaster, 
with losses and crosses in raising turkeys that some record 
they have had. For which success I am very, very thankful. 
I attribute it to a great extent, as I said in the beginning of 
this chapter, to posting myself upon the raising and man- 
agement as given in our poultry papers, and to one turkey 
book. 

ITEMS OF INTEREST. 

I find it no harder to raise a large flock than a small one. 
It means simply a little more setting of eggs, a little more 
feeding, all at the same time, and a little more dusting. 
When I raised the 170 I had no better conveniences for rais- 
ing them than a farmer's wife usually has who tries and 
raises hundreds of chickens, but I immediately set about 
having separate roosting coops, or houses, made from odds 
and ends that were otherwise going to waste on the farm 
and T succeeded wtih the assistance of a large dry goods box 
or two, and grandpa as carpenter. These coops I have used 
ever since and they are good for years of service yet. 

I now keep my breeding pens of ten to fifteen females 
and one tom in yards inclosing from one and one-half to 
three acres of land, which is mostly covered with orchards. 
All that can be plowed of these pens is sown to rye every 
fall, though I am trying clover this year. I mark the breed- 
ing hens of one yard by clipping the right wing, and another 



yard by clipping the left wing, and the outside pen, which I 
train to nest in the barn, I leave unmarked on the wing. 
This is far preferable to the old method of allowing the 
stock to run at large. The turkeys do fully as well or better, 
more eggs are saved, besides a great deal of labor in hunting 
the eggs. There is one objection to clipping the wing, for 
me, and that is it gives the wolves a better chance at the 
turkeys when they are turned out of the pens. Dogs also 
are more liable to catch them. 

CARE OF SITTING HENS. 

1 set my hens in goods boxes turned side down out in 
the turkey pen, or bring the hen to a similar nest prepared 
in one of my adjoining poultry sheds, using oats straw or 
clover trash for nesting material, being careful that too 
much is not used to prevent the eggs from turning and that 
the nest is not too concave, causing the eggs to roll together 
and become broken. They have easy access to feed, water, 
grit, charcoal, lime and dusting box. I prefer for some rea- 
sons having each hen shut in her respective nest box and 
opening it regularly each day for her exit to feed, watching 
till she returns. If the nest bo.xes are always open, often 
two or more hens will return to one nest, breaking some 
eggs, perhaps, and leaving other eggs to chill. When set in 
the pen she needs attention, as the laying hen may disturb 
her and break the eggs. 

My experience has taught me that my sitting and brood- 
ing hens should have some grain, especially the pullets, in 
order that they may develop into larger hen turkeys. 

I have discarded the barrel for a sitting nest box unless 
it he a large barrel or a small turkey. Too many eggs are 
broken or shuffled out of the barrel. 

CARING FOR THE YOUNG. 

It would not be a turkey article if I did not say dust your 
mother turkey while sitting two or three times with some 
good insect powder, and the little poults at least every two 
weeks, oftener if by examination you see it is necessary. 
You will find the lice on the wing quills, around the vent 
and on the head and throat. 

I feed the little ones stale light bread softened with 
water or sweet milk and squeezed dry, alternating with hard 
boiled eggs and clabber cheese after they are a few days old, 
and I always put in fine chick grit till they are ten days or 
two weeks old, old enough to pick grit from the box them- 
selves. I give a little pepper once or twice a day with the 
food, occasionally onion or garlic tops, and lettuce if I have 
it. They greatly enjoy picking the lettuce heads tied to 
something in their little pen or run. I feed five times per 
day, just what they will clean up, gradually diminishing to 
three meals per day, and by the time they are three weeks 
old I begin giving them cracked Kaffir corn, wheat or other 
small grain, adding cracked corn later, and whole Kaffir 
corn. When old enough to go to the range for the day I feed 
but twice — an exclusively grain ration at night. 

I do not feed what I call the "baby turkey feed" so long 
as I did a few years ago. I begin the grain earlier and find 
they develop just as rapidly and with less expense and 
trouble to me. Keep them growing, not fat, the first year 
of their lives and the weight will be all right. Heavy feed- 
ing to fatten for heavy weights when the birds are six to 
eight or nine months old is detrimental to having a large 
turkey when older. As a rule, those heavily fatted toms and 
pullets that were stuffed to meet the demands of the show 
room and the trade for thirty-two and thirty-three pound 
toms in early spring never develop into as large birds as 
those that were simply kept growing during this period. If 
one is raising for market then begin to feed for fattening as 
soon as the range runs low in September and October and 
keep it up till they go to market. MRS. F. A. HARGRAVE, 
Secretary-Treasurer of the Western Turkey Club. 



CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF TURKEYS. 



Raising Bronze Turkeys In Canada— Best Soil for Turkeys Inbreeding and Line Breeding Shape, Color. Markings- 
Roosting Houses Used with Success— Young Hens as Breeders— Setting the Hen— Care of 
the Young— Diseases— Catching and Weighing— Selling Stock. 



By W. J. Bell. 




LTHOUGH I am aware that turkeys are raised 
successfully on all kinds of soils and in nearly 
alllocatiiins,! believe that sandy land or clay 
with an abundance of gravel is a better place 
than heavy clay soil, especially if the latter is 
not well drained. On two of my turkey farms 
the soil is gravelly clay and there is running water all days of 
the year and from those farms have come my largest turkeys. 
When I moved to my present farm in 1893, which has no 
sand or gravel in its compo- 
sition, I noticed the poults a 
day or two after they were 
moved out on tha ground 
from the nest commenced to 
look sickly. I could not im- 
agine what was the matter, 
as they were free from lice 
and their treatment was the 
same as previously given on 
the home farm. In watching 
them going around 1 noticed 
they were picking at small 
substances. I immediately 
procured some fiae gravel 
for them, and an improve- 
ment was noticeable in about 
a day's time. This shows 
what is gained by close ob- 
servation and also that the 
dying of poults is caused — 
not by the food given, which 
is usually the cause assigned 
— but through overlooking 
wh.i.t may seem unimportant 
matters. I consider a fifty- 
acre range necessary for 
even a small flock. 

BREEDING SHOW STOCK. 

Some writers say that to 
mate Bronze turkeys you 
have only to "discard all 
specimens disqualified by 
the standard." After thir- 
teen years spent in breeding 
these birds I must say I disagree with them, for I have found 
the selection of the largest specimens and inbreeding them 
to certain extent will increase the size instead of decreasing 
it, but when carried too far inbreeding will impair the vital- 
ity and produce deformities. Therefore, to properly mate 
those birds is, I claim, as much of a problem as mating any 
of the standard breeds of fowl. I wish the reader to remem- 
ber that I am referring to the production of Bronze turkeys 
for breeding and show purposes. 

In regard to the shape of the male I like one that stands 
well up. By this I mean one that carries his breast high, the 



Fig. I— Showing a Well-shaped Bird tor Breeding or Show Purposes. 

Feathers on rear o£ back were slightly raised by the bird's excite- 
ment at having his picture taken. 



same to be moderately full and well rounded. I have no use 
for the bird that carries his breast and body in a straight 
line parallel with the ground. Fig. 1 is my idea of a good 
shaped bird, either for the breeding yard or show room, e.x- 
cept that the feathers on the rear part 'of the back were 
raised a little when the photograph was taken. Select a bird 
with good, heavy bones, and see that the toes are straight. 

COLOR. 

When you examine the different birds in the show room 

you will find on breast and 
neck almost as many shades 
as birds. There isi the green 
bronze, the black bronze, a 
dull brown bronze and a 
yellow bronze. The latter is 
my preference, and what I 
think is called for in the 
standard, although plenty 
of judges favor the black 
lironze color. The body and 
back will be darker, with 
bronze reflections. The legs 
should be pink. 

In the wings and tail are' 
where the faults appear. 
Spread the wing and look 
for solid black feathers in 
the primaries, irregular bar- 
fing in both primaries and 
secondaries and also a white 
edge along the bottom of 
each feather in the latter. 
They are bad faults. Fig. 2 
is a good wing. The tail, 
which includes tail coverts, 
is seldom perfect; in fact, I 
have never seen one. The 
black bars near the end of 
the tail coverts (I mean the 
row of feathers lying far- 
thest out of the tail proper) 
are generally missing, and 
two center feathers of the 
tail proper always have the 
white tip, the black bar and the brown barring more or less 
mixed. I have noticed the latter peculiarity in the wild part- 
ridge. Spread the tail coverts apart and look at the bottom of 
the tail proper and in a great many cases you will find white 
barring the same as on the wing. This is another serious 
fault. Some breeders are satisfied with a tail which is all 
speckled with black and brown so long as it has the black 
band near the tip and a white tip. Now I am satisfied that a 
feather regularly barred with brown and black, with the 
broad black band and dull white or gray tip, is the proper 
color. Fig. 3 is as good in color of tail as I have seen. 




24 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 




Fig. 2— A Good Wing. 

Bred and Owned by Mr. W. J. Hell. 

I do not refer to all the shape or color sections, but only 
to those which are usually faulty or in dispute. The above 
will give you my idea of a good male to head a pen, except 
on one point, and that one in my estimation is the most im- 
portant, viz., you should insist on having a line-bred bird. 
If you use a bird produced from two strains entirely different 
in build a.nd in a great many sections in color as well, what 
' can you expect? My advice is to have a good male sired by 
good malts of one line of breeding. 

What I have said in regard to shape of male will apply 
to the females also. The standard says of the female: "The 
entire plumage is similar to that of the male, but the colors 
are not so brilliant or clearly defined, and the edging of the 
feathers dull white or gray." Now some breeders say that 
hens should have a gray edge to breast and back feathers, 
and I mjjst admit that the great majority of hens are 
marked that way; still the meaning I take from the "color 
of the female" section in the standard is that they should 
have the same color as the male, and I claim that the fe- 
males in all our shows are scored too high. It is not impos- 
sible to produce chem, for I have produced quite a few and 
find a great demand for them. 

Young hens in my experience have proved the most sat- 
isfactory breeders. The old hens in a great many cases (and 
young hens sometimes) will lay soft shelled and misformed 
eggs in spite of all I can do. I have starved them; have had 
an abundance of old mortar and lime before them; have 
given them free range and everything I could think of, but 
I cannot stop them entirely. I consider it the only fault the 
Bronze turkeys have. Usually I mate seven or eight hens 
with one male, but I think more than that number would 
still give satisfactory results. Any shed or building not too 
warm will do for a roosting place for breeding stock. They 
should be given free range during the daytime in all weather. 
I would advise feeding the male pretty well, but the hens 
only lightly. 

S£TTmC THE H£N. 

At this stage it is a good plan to have nests prepared, as 
I have noticed hens looking up nests a month in advance of 



laying. Have them roomy, so the hen can turn and come off 
without breaking the eggs, and place them in all the corners 
and secluded places that you can find. By doing this early I 
save myself the trouble to a great extent of hunting the tur- 
key nests. It is a good plan to watch which hen lays in a 
certain nest, and mark the eggs as you gather them, placing 
them in bran in a cool room until the turkey wants to set. 
Then dust the nest well with insect powder and giv.5 them to 
her — about seventeen eggs if she lays that many. Some 
advocate placing the first laying under domestic hens and 
forcing the turkey to lay a second lot, but here in northern 
Ontario the late July hatches are seldom a success. About 
two days before the eggs are due to hatch dust the hen and 
nefit well with insect powder. I consider this one of the 
most important things to do, as a young turkey cannot stand 
a dose of lice the first thing. 

CARE OF THE YOVNC. 

When you bring the young from the nest mark them on 
the web of the foot with a small poultry punch. It marked 
when about twenty-four hours old they seldom bleed and the 
hole never grows together. By doing this and keeping the 
hens' eggs separate you can ascertain which hen is produc- 
ing the best birds. I now come to a period in which my treat- 
ment of turkeys radically differs from other successful breed- 
er.?, but I have had very few casualties under this system and 
so I intend to continue following it, and, further, I can raise 
them by this system just as easily as chickens. About twelve 
hours after the last poult is hatched I take them to a larger 
box — turkey and all. I feed them bread soaked in milk. 
They will not eat much at first, but by sticking a little of it 
around the sides of the box and working it on your hand 
among them, they get started. I keep them in this box from 
one to two days, depending on the weather, and get them 
taught to eat off my baud. Then I change them to an A- 
snaped coop with no bottom, and a lath front, and gradually 
I substitute shorts for the bread in their food. 

I feed them their shorts entirely out of my hands until 
they are sold. I am very often told by my customers that 
they are surprised at the tameness of my turkeys. Another 




Fig. 3— A Fair Tail. 

nrcd and Owned by Mr. \V. J. Bell. 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



advantage gained by feeding out of your hand is tliat there 
is no food left on the ground to sour — a fruitful source of 
bowel trouble. 

Up till five weeks of age I feed five times per day and 
cut dandelion leaves fine and mix with the shorts nearly 
every meal. I occasionally cut onion tops instead of ihe 
dandelions. Give plenty of milk — any kind — to drink, and 
keer fresh water before them all the time. Something which 
should never be neglected is to move the coop the breadth 
of itself every day. lu mixing the shorts it is important to 
have them quite damp, but not sticky. There is one fine 
grade of shorts it is impossible to mix properly. 1 am aware 
some claim that feeding five times per day will kill the 



cate placing the roosts on a level and about four feet from 
the ground. All I have to do now is to place food in the 
trough, drive the turkeys into the "run," leave the sliding 
doors open and they have plenty of light to see their food and 
are compelled to roost inside. Then, again, if the weather 
is warm the windows can be raised and the sliding doors 
left open all night, and if cold all can be closed. Figs. 4 and 
5 will give an idea of this building. Of course the rafters 
are boarded over aud shingled. 



DISEASES. 



I 




Fig. 4-W J. Bell's Turkey House. 

With roof cut away to show Interior .\rran^cine]it. 

poults, but they surely have not tried feeding shorts aud 
milk. Shorts digest very fast and I believe is a preventive 
of bowel trouble. At any rate I have found it a very slow- 
killing process. 

At about five weeks old I give the hen her liberty and let 
them have free range of the farm and roost on the fences or 
buildings until fall. I only feed twice per day during the 
summer — shorts mixed with milk in the morning and clean 
wheat at night. If grasshoppers are plentiful they will oft- 
times refuse the wheat, but with me they never refuse the 
shorts. 

HOUSING. 

When I first started I found great difficulty in getting 
them to roost in a shed at night during winter. I would 
spend over an hour keeping them from going on the fences 
and buildings, so 1 thought of a plan which has worked sat- 
isfactorily ever sin-ce. I built a lean-to on the south side of 
my farm barn. Twelve feet from the barn and parallel 
thereto four posts were placed twelve feet apart and seven 
feet above ground. On these were placed a four by four-inch 
scantling. Then to the side of the barn, twelve feet from the 
ground, another scantling was spiked, and on these were 
placed the rafters. The two ends were then boarded up 
close and also the front, except what was required for doors 
aud windows. 

Now the rafters were not cut off close to the building, 
but extended over about four feet. Straight under the points 
of rafters I placed four short posts twelve feet apart and two 
feet above ground and boarded this two feet up solid. From 
these boards to the point of rafters was strung poultry net- 
ting. One and a half feet from the ground and against the 
two-foot boarding was nailed a V-shaped trough the entire 
length, thirty-six feet, and a door placed on the end of this 
"run." The insido or house proper can be divided into two 
or three compartments as required, with roosts, and a large 
sliding door and a window for each compartment. I advo- 



shall touch very lightly on this part of the subject. I 
have had very few turkeys die from disease. At one time I 
housed them in a building much too small, and 
they contracted roup. I tried doctoring, but 
found it was not a success, and now use all my 
energies in preventing disease. I firmly believe 
if you let your birds have free range in daytime, 
feed at regular intervals and keep them free 
from lice you will have no more trouble than in 
raising any other line of live stock. My greatest 
troubles have been soft shelled eggs and foxes. 

CA TCHING AND WEIGHING. 

While our Provincial show was judged by 
score card and all birds were weighed, I was 
generally asked by competitors to catch their 
turkeys and place them on the scales, as I could 
handle the birds more easily than any other. In 
catching a turkey, if on the ground, I stand on 
left side, place my right arm over its back and 
grab both legs. Lift by placing left hand under 
the breast, it may try to break loose for a 
second or two, but hold steady, and it will give up. If the 
bird is on a perch, grab by both legs from behind— right 
hand for right leg and left hand for left leg— and draw 
quickly from tlie p.n-ch so its breast or wings will not strike 
it, then hold steadily while it Haps, afterwards it will re- 
main quiet if held by ihe legs. In placing on the scales 
hold its feet toward you with the right hand and breast with 
the left. Lay it on its right side and pull its right wing 
down towards its breast as much as possible when with- 
drawing your left hand. 



Make .vour movements grad- 
ual and quiet and you will 
have very little trouble. It is 
almost impossible to get 
thtir weight while standing 
on their feet. In weighing as 
abtjve if small counter scales 
are used it is advisable to 
place a box of the same size 
as the scales and about one 
foot high under the scales, 
as the head and tail of the 
turkeys will droop a little on 
each side and having the box 
under the scales prevents 
them touching the floor. 

SELLING STOCK. 

It would require a whole 
book to treat this subject 
properly, as it includes ad- 
vertising and making coops. 
I thiuk the best advice I can 
give is to be perfectly honest and truthful. I have found 
more persons lie about the weights of their turkeys than 
about any other one thing in this world. I have bought tur- 
keys at different times to be a certain weight and in almost 




Fig. 5. 
Runway in Turkey House. 

Showing Feeding- Trougli an 
Wire Netting. 



26 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



every case have found them from five to ten pounds short. I 
am aware that turkeys will lose about two pounds in transit, 
no matter how short the distance, but seldom more. Then 
again you will notice prominent breeders using cuts that 
have been in existence for years as if said cuts were from 
photographs of their stock. A case of his kind which 
amused me and caused me not to trust a leading breeder 
with my order was to And a cut on his envelope and under- 
neath labeled "S 3rd, 1st prize cockerel at C , 1899," 

and right in front of the cut in small type was "F. L. Sewell, 
1897," which showed that the cut was made before the bird 
it was supposed to represent was hatched. 

In regard to advertising, I would say try small ads in 
different papers and then increase the space in those papers 
which give best results. Do not try to make people believe 
you have the only good ones on earth, but state just what 
you have done iu the show room and what you have to offer. 
Showing comes under the head of advertising, and I find it 
must be done or we drop out. I would say exhibit at the 
largest shows, as it is not the amount of money you can 
"clear" at the show, but the amount of reputation for good 



stock that you can gain. Answer all correspondence 
promptly and be careful to answer all questions asked as 
far as it lies in your power. Upon receipt of an oi-Uer ac- 
knowledge by first mail, stating what day you will ship. 

For shipping coops I use dry basswood. Take four pieces 
one and one-half by one and one-half inches and thirty 
inches long for corner posts. Nail two pieces three inches 
wide, two feet long and one-half inch thick on each end, and 
two pieces three inches wide, three feet long and one-half 
inch thick on each side. This will give you a light square 
frame. Nail on a bottom of one-half-inch basswood and two 
pieces three inches wide, one-half-inch thick on top. Tack 
factory cotton all around the coop and after the cotton is on 
nail lath about four inches apart around the coop. This 
makes a light, strong coop in which to ship a pair of young 
turkeys. 

For old birds it would have to be larger in every way. 
and for a single bird it could be narrower. I generally try 
to ship by night trains, as the birds are quieter at night and 
do not abuse themselves so much by breaking their feathers 
and bruising their flesh. W. J. BELL. 




Fig. 6— Sweepstakes Bronze Turkey at Ontario Provincial Shour, Cuelph, 1900. 
Bred and Exhibited by W. J. Bell. 



POINTS ON TURKEY BREEDING. 



Loss of Vitality In Turkeys and Lack of Fertility In £ggs— Injured Females— Food for the Young— Danger from Lice 
Their Causes— Care of the Layers and Sitters— Indigestion and Diarrhoea— Preparation for Market— 
The Poults— Feeding the Breeding Stock— Advantages of Roosting Outside. 



By J. F. Craagle. 




RONZE turkeys are more raised than any other 
variety, for several reasons. First, they are 
the largest; second, they are hardy and well 
"adapted to this climate; third, they are good 
layers and the best of mothers; fourth, tliey are 
most satisfactory for marketing, being full-breasted and 
possessing the desired color of flesh. They will lay eighteen 
to forty eggs a season under proper care. 

Generally it is considered that one male will mate with 
six to ten females. I have used one male for twenty-five 
hens, but I do not think it well to risk using only one male 
with your entire flock (especially if you have more than 
eight or ten females) for the following reason: A female 
usually allows the male to tread once. If from any cause 
the male did not effect proper connection, the eggs would 
not be fertile and the best part of the season would be lost 
because the first litter is considered the best. 

The hen after connection selects a spot for her nest and 
a few days after it is made. This is usually done by 
scratching up the earth so as to make a hollow place to keep 
the eggs from rolling out. A great deal of the risk of males 
not fertilizing the eggs could be avoided in the following 
way: Use two to'ms alternately every day, but under no 
consideration allow both toms to run with the females at 
the same time. If you do you will, as a rule, have bad luck, 
as the males will fight and at times hurt themselves, also the 
females. 

The lack of fertility in eggs and vigor in young poults 
is one of the main reasons for the decline in turkey breeding 
in the eastern states, and perhaps all over the United States. 
In many of the eastern states, where a few years ago hun- 
dreds of tons of turkeys were raised, they now have to im- 
port, mostly from western states, to meet the demand, as it 
seems almost impossible to raise them. I think the main 
cause is in-breeding. There are many farmers who in the 
past have not thought it necessary to obtain new blood, and 
who thought they could save a few dollars by borrowing a 
torn from a neighbor, in this way using the same blood 
year after year. This has been done for so many years that 
the vitality has been about bred out. For the past few years 
turkey breeders no doubt have seen their folly, because 
many of them are now looking months ahead for a good 
male. The vitality had gotten so low that it created disease, 
and I am sure that many of the turkey diseases with which 
we have to contend have been caused by lowering the vital- 
ity of the turkey. 1 believe there is no other variety of birds 
in which the vital forces decrease so rapidly by in-breeding 
as in the turkey. 

I think it possible under proper management to raise 
turkeys in every state in the Union, and I believe if farmers 
in general will be more careful about in-breeding and will 
see that they have the proper kind of males to breed from, 
such as will introduce new, strong, hardy blood into their 



stock, they will be able to raise turkeys as they have in 
years gone by. To people who are having trouble in raising 
turkeys I advise using a half wild male if they have large 
range. It is almost impossible to get a pure wild torn in 
this country, although you may happen to run on one by 
accident. About all the people who claim to have wild tur- 
keys have nothing but half-breeds, yet with a half wild tom 
you can get enough new blood to make the offspring very 
much stronger, and this will be noticeable the first season. 

THE LAYING AND HATCHING SEASON. 

After the turkey commences to lay, in many sections 
of the country, the nights are cold and in many places the 
thermometer goes down to the freezing point. When hens 
are laying and you are afraid of frost, the eggs should be 
gathered every evening and marked with the date. Then 
they should be placed in a pan or basket in common wheat 
bran with the big end of the eggs down, as by so doing 3^u 
will keep the air cell in good condition. Put them in a cel- 
lar or any cool place and turn them every day. It is 
not best to turn them completely over; turn them only part 
way over each day. It is safe to keep them ten or twelve 
days, but I would not advise keeping them any longer than 
possible, as they are liable to get stale, in which case not so 
many of them would hatch. When the eggs are removed 
from the nest a giass egg should always be put in. If you 
do not put glass or wooden eggs in the nest the hen will 
probably leave her nest and lay elsewhere. 

A good mother will cover her eggs when she leaves her 
nest; usually this is done with dry grass or leaves, so that 
in looking for a turkey nest it is always necessary to be 
careful, as otherwise one might step on it. An ordinary hen 
will cover eighteen eggs. If she lays more than that num- 
ber, take the extra ones and put them under a common hen, 
setting this hen and the turkey at the same time. If you 
have a good hatch and get out more than eighteen, leave a 
few of the poults with the common hen. The turkey hen 
can brood eighteen poults with safety. Above all things, 
see that there are no lice on the hen when she hatches, as 
the poults are very tender when hatched and if the hen has 
lice the poults will have them on their bodies within a few 
hours. When you transfer poults from common hens to 
turkey hens dust them well with a good powder, as you want 
to be sure there are no lice on them. 

It takes twenty-eight to twenty-nine days to hatch tur- 
key eggs. If the turkey does not leave her nest at that time 
do not disturb her for at least twenty-four hours, because 
oftentimes a few of the eggs are slow in hatching and she 
stays on the nest several hours after they are hatched for 
the poults to gain strength. It is always well to take a 
piece of stale bread moistened with milk and put it near the 
nest, near enough for the turkey hen to reach it. If the 
poults are hungry, they will also eat. This food is very im- 
portant because if the hen is hungry she may leave her nest 



28 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



before she should, lookiug for food. We must remember 
she leaves her nest only three or four times In twenty-eight 
days. If she does not appear inclined to move to get the 
food, do not disturb her, as it is a very easy matter to find 
out whether she has hatched any young, for as a rule, 
broken egg shells will be seen near the nest. At the expir- 
ation of thirty days, if you see no signs of the young tur- 
keys, it will be well to investigate the matter by raising the 
turkey off the nest and ascertaining whether the eggs are 
fertile or not. If they should prove to be infertile, shut up 
the female for four or five days in a coop large enough for 
her to get a little exercise. Give her food and water and a 
place to dust herself and in three or four weeks she will lay 
again. 

One of the best places in which to let the hen turkey 
run with poults is a field where the grass is short. As a 
rule, a pasture is very good; woodland is also suitable. Keep 
them out of long grass and grain fields when there is a 
heavy dew or it is rainy, until after the grain and hay are 
harvested, because the wet vegetation is bad for the young 
poults. It chills and sets them back in their growth and 
often is fatal, i'ou will always find the largest and finest 
turkeys where they have free range. As a rule, turkeys will 
wander some distance from home during the day, but will 
come back to their home every night. Under proper man- 
agement you can place turkeys anywhere you wish on the 
farm, and by teaching them to roost in one particular place, 
they will come to regard this as their home, and will know 
no other; you will always find them wherever they have 
been taught to roost. This can be done by watching them 
a few nights in succession and driving them to the place 
where you wish them to stay. Just before dark they will go 
up in the trees or on a roost that has been put up for them. 
With the right kind of breeding stock turkeys at Thanks- 
giving time should weigh about as follows: Toms, sixteen 
to twenty pounds; hens, twelve to fourteen pounds. I have 
dressed at six months old, turkeys weighing twenty-four 
pounds, but they are rare. 

FEEDING THE BREEDING STOCK. 

There are two things which have to be done in order to 
have success in breeding. One of them is to get the right 
kind of breeding stock, and the other is to feed them prop- 
erly. These are the two main things. The proper way to 
feed breeding stock is to be careful not to overfeed them. 
After your breeders are selected, feed almost entirely on 
oats (scalded). I find they do better on oats than on any 
other food. For a change, feed whole corn about twice per 
week, and at no time feed more than they will eat clean. 
Where turkeys have a barnyard to scratch in, you will have 
to be careful not to get them over-fat, and as a rule, it is 
only necessary to feed them at night. A good accompani- 
ment to the food for turkeys is charcoal ground coarse. Put 
it in a box where they can find it. They also need shells — 
oyster shells are the best. On a farm they can ordinarily 
find all the grit that it is necessary for them to have. If 
the hen turkey has not enough lime to properly supply the 
egg shell, it will be porous. I have known many germs to 
die on this account. 

DISEASES AND INJURED STOCK. 

Under no consideration breed from a diseased turkey. 
It is much safer to kill a sick turkey than to let her among 
your flock of healthy birds. 

When the males mate with the females and they are 
extra heavy and clumsy, it is well to see that the male does 
not tear the female or hurt her back. A very good way to 
prevent this is to file down the toe nails of the male. I have 
seen them many times slip off of the female and rip open 



the hips or side. It is very easy to discover an injured fe- 
male by her actions, more especially the next day, as she 
will be lame and her wings will droop. It is best to catch 
her at once and examine the wound, as generally they can be 
saved by sewing up the tear. This is not a very difficult 
matter. Let one person hold the turkey and another do the 
sewing. Pull all the feathers from the edges of the wound, 
and with warm water moisten them so they will stay back 
while you are putting in the stitches. Before sewing, the 
wound should be washed thoroughly with castile soap, using 
a small, soft sponge; then take a long, fine needle and with 
white silk thread draw the edges of the skin around the 
wound so that the parts meet as. they were. Commence at 
one end of the wound and gradually draw the edges of the 
skin together over the wound as you stitch, until the tear is 
all closed up. Many times I have taken as many as fifty 
stitches in one wound. Bathe the wound with witch hazel 
every day for four or five days. It is well to keep the hen 
in a small pen or coop for three or four days where there is 
quiet, and where ycu can catch her without running. If you 
gave her free range she might tear out the stitches. The 
period of confinement depends entirely on the size and 
nature of the wound, but as a rule, after three or four days 
she can be liberated with the rest of the flock. 

FOOD FOR rOUNC TURKEYS. 

As a rule, many young turkeys are killed by over-feed- 
ing. On large farms where the hen turkey and her poults 
have plenty of range, it is best to feed them only twice each 
day, once in the morning and again at night. Young turkeys 
can live on insects and many little grasses which they relish. 
You will always find that food they get in the fields will keep 
them in better condition than anything you can give them. 
During the berry season, especially when wild strawberries 
are ripe, it is a pleasure to watch the little turkeys pick and 
eat them. In seasons when there is a. good supply of grass- 
hoppers, the turkeys will live almost entirely on them. 

When young turkeys have to be fed the best food I know 
of is stale bread, but be sure the bread is not sour. By stale 
broad I mean wheat bread three to ten days old. JVloisten 
the bread with sweet milk, but do not get it too moist. I 
usually press out all the milk that I can with my hands. 
Clabbered milk is also good for young turkeys. Put it in a 
dish on the ground where they can get at it easily. During 
the warmest weather of .summer it is best to keep all tur- 
keys, young or old, on the hungry side, for if you do not, 
there is great danger of their having bowel trouble. 

I have told you how to care for turkeys on a large range. 
If you are on a limited ragne, or for any reason you have to 
keep your birds confined, I mean young poults, take three 
boards twelve or fourteen inches wide and ten or twelve feet 
long and make a triangular pen. In this pen put the old 
turkey and her poults. Do not confine the hen. She will 
jump out and in over the boards and will not leave her 
poults. It is best to leave the poults in this pen for fifteen 
to eighteen days, and then let them range with their mother. 
Many per.5ons think it is necessary to put the hen turkey in 
a coop to keep her near her young, but this is not the case, 
as the mother will stay with the poults; you could hardly 
drive her away. When the young poults are confined in a 
pen as above described, it is necessary while so young to 
feed them four times a day with stale bread moistened with 
milk. If the weather is rainy and wet, it is sometimes well 
to use red pepper enough to make the bread quite warm. 
If any of your poults are drooping it will tone them up. 
Clabbered milk is also good for them. Should you find that 
the young turkeys are drooping and do not seem to pick up, 
the very first thing to look for is lice. If your poults have 
lice or ticks they will not do well, and it is almost impos- 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



29 



sible to raise them. You will find at times a large blue tick 
on turkeys and turkey poults; they are on the neck and head 
only. If you should find any ticks on your poults, pick them 
oil, then use clear lard on the head and neck. It will kill the 
nits that would hatch if you did not use some preventive. 
For the two other varieties of lice, use any good insect pow- 
der, but always be careful that none gets in their eyes. 
Hen turkeys generally keep free from lice if they can find 
any place to dust themselves, but some are very lazy and if 
these hens have poults they will be sure to be infested with 
lice, too. In looking for lice it is best tO' examine the little 
wings, as generally you will find them at the base of quills, 
also around vent. For the terrible ticks, which are almost 
sure death, look upon the neck, push back the feathers care- 
fully until you reach the top of the head. You can easily 
see them, as they are good sized, and the older ones are dark 
blue in color, usually full of blood. If you keep your poults 
free from lice you will have overcome almost all danger of 
loss. 

Stale bread moistened in milk should be fed to the 
poults for three or four weeks, then gradually get them to 
eat wheat and fine cracked corn. This grain should be 
scalded, as it will then assist digestion, but do not feed it 
until it has thoroughly cooled. Indigestion is very preva- 
lent among turkeys, both young and full gi'own. 

If your poults should have diarrhoea from any cause, one 
feed of boiled rice will usually stop the trouble. Another 
common but sure relief is to give them red pepper, say one 
tablespoonful. Mix it with about two tablespoonfuls of 
wheat middlings, then moisten it with water, but do not wet 
ic enough to make it sticky. Cut it up in about four to six 
parts and roll the parts into pill shape, put them in an oven 
and bake them hard. It is well to have a few always on 
hand, as after baking they will keep for a long time in a 
dry place. If I have a turkey, either old or young, with a 
bad case of diarrhoea, I give one pill three times a day until 
the droppings are improved. Then give a tablespoonful of 
castor oil if the tui'key is full grown, or a teaspoouful to a 
young poult. It is very seldom that I cannot stop a case of 
diarrhoea with this treatment. 

FALL FEEDING. 

I commence to feed all turkeys the first of October to 
get them ready for Thanksgiving, as we all know there is 
more demand for turkeys at that time than at any other. 
They should be fed morning and night, but never more than 
they will eat within a few minutes. Most of the trouble 
we have in the fall is caused by overfeeding. At the time 
you commence to feed for fattening use common sense and 
feed lightly for the first ten days, gradually increasing the 



food. The principal food from October to January first 
should be corn, not cracked, and the older the corn the bet- 
ter, as new corn will cause bowel trouble. I have seen large 
flocks of turkeys knocked out by feeding new corn. If you 
get their bowels out of order, it takes weeks to get them 
in good condition again. As a rule, most of your turkeys 
will be fat and in good condition to dress at Thanksgiving. 
There may be a few late hatched broods that will be im- 
proved if carried over to Christmas. 

Many people advocate putting turkeys in a closed pen 
to fatten. I have given this method a good trial many times 
and under all conditions and find it a failure. Let them 
have all the range they want. The results will be better 
and you will avoid the sickness they will have if you con- 
fine them. Many persons do not understand why their tur- 
keys are not so fat as they should be, but almost invariably 
you will find that they have fed them in confinement and 
the turkeys could not stand it, especially for a period of sev- 
eral weeks. They get off their feed and will not eat. In the 
fall when the weather is cold, turkeys will not range far 
from the farm buildings. They will eat their morning food, 
then roam around after a little grit to help them digest it 
and then lie down in a warm place out of the wind. Drive 
all the turkeys you wish to kill in a barn or shed so as to 
confine them twenty-four hours before killing with no food 
of any kind. To look well when dressed, their crops must 
be entirelv free from food. 

THE BEST ROOSTING PLACE FOR TURKEYS. 

Many persons who keep turkeys think they need shel- 
ter in the way of a building. That idea is entirely wrong. 
The best possible way of keeping turkeys in good health is 
to have them roost away from buildings, in trees if you have 
them. By roosting in trees they will not be in draughts, 
as they would be if allowed to roost in sheds or buildings. 
I have known turkeys to roost in trees with the thermom- 
eter fifteen to twenty degrees below zero, and be much 
healthier than turkeys that were inside a building. A tur- 
key can stand any weather we have in the United States if 
they are roosting in trees that are partly sheltered from the 
wind. I have seen turkeys in trees during a snow and rain 
storm with the wind blowing sixty miles an hour, and they 
did not appear to mind it in the least. 

A great improvement has been made in the size of tur- 
keys, especially Bronze, in the past twenty years. The ordi- 
nary turkey of some years ago, as bred by the average farm- 
er, would weigh about as follows: Toms, twenty pounds; 
hens, eight to ten pounds. To-day Bronze turkeys will 
weigh: Toms, thirty-five to forty-two pounds; hens, eigh- 
teen to twenty-five pounds. This shows what proper mat- 
ing will do. J. F. CRANGLE. 



IIS ISATURE'S WAY, 



Selecting Breeders— Introducing New Blood— Raising Breeders— Avoid Crossing, but Judiciously I nbreed— Poults 
In Nature's Way — Range — Food — Housing — Difficult Sections to Breed Correctly. 



By B. r. Ulrey, Treasurer National Bronze Turkey Club. 




S I BREED only the Bronze variety of turkeys, 
and a limited number of them for exhibition 
and breeding purposes, and as I have had no 
experience with any other variety and never 
sell on the market, except the culls of my 
Hock, I cannot give you much information on raising 
turkeys for market. However, if I were to breed tur- 
keys for market purposes, I should employ the same 
methods as I do in breeding exhibition fowls, except that I 
should not discard a good bird if it were faulty in color. 
Most farmers, I notice, sell all of 
the early hatched turkeys on the 
market because they will bring 
more money and they retain the 
late hatched and immature poults 
for breeding purposes. The conse- 
quence is, they do not raise many 
next season, because the breeding 
stock has no vigor and the poults 
no strength when hatched. 

I have bred Bronze turkeys for 
ten years and my method of rais- 
ing them is entirely different from 
that employed by anyone with 
whom I have talked, or from the 
methods of poultry writers which 
I find printed in the poultry jour- 
nals from time to time. In the 
first place, I keep about fifteen fe- 
males in each Sock, seven hens 
and eight pullets, headed by an 
adult tom, assisted by a cockerel, 
and I always have fertile eggs. 
The Bronze turkey commences 
about ten months old and she 
to twenty-five eggs before she 
csnfined for about a week or ten days she will commence 
to lay again and will lay from twelve to sixteen more eggs 
before she becomes broody. Most hens lay two clutches in a 
season, though I have known some hens to lay all summer, 
and I have one hen that laid ninety-seven eggs from April 
first to September tenth. In selecting my breeding stock I 
take females as near standard weight and color as possible, 
having large frames and bones and such as are not too fat. 
These are mated with toms that are a little above standard 
weight, the cockerel weighing from twenty-eight to thirty 
pounds at ten months old, the yearling cocks from thirty- 
flve to thirty-seven pounds, the adult from thirty- 
eight to forty-two pounds. I am particular to have males 
of the best color and shape that I can get. I find that the 
female gives us size, while the male governs the plumage. 
In changing males and breeding for exhibition purposes, I 
always try to get a tom that is extra fine in the sections in 
which my females arei defective. The best way to introduce 
new blood is to purchase a female from some successful 
breeder and mate her with the tom that heads your own 




Two Winning Hens, tlie Property of B. F. Ulrey 

Indiana Queen (at left) . score 97^/4 ; Pride of .Shaw- 
nee (at rigfht) , weight at ten months 
old, 235^ pounds. 



to lay When she is 
will lay from twenty 
offers to set, then if 



flock. Save her eggs and mark her poults, and if they prove 
good, you can use them successfully. On the other hand, 
if you buy a tom of another strain (the male counts more 
than half of the flock) to mate with your hens, and such 
mating results in poor birds, you have lost the season. I 
often see advertisements in poultry journals in which breed- 
ers offer stock for sale produced from twenty-seven to 
thirty-one-pound hens and forty to forty-seven-pound toms. 
Such claims are intended to catch amateurs, for any breeder 
of experience knows- that a hen that weighs twenty-seven 
pounds never lays fertile eggs, and 
a tom that weighs forty-seven 
pounds never fertilizes an egg. 

HATCHING AND RAISING POULTS. 

I allow the hens to have their 
own way about their nests, al- 
though I place barrels on their 
sides along hedges and in seclude! 
places in the orchard and fence 
corners, in each putting a small 
quantity of straw. The hens gen- 
erally nest in the barrels and I re- 
move the eggs every day until the 
hen is ready to set. I then give 
her seventeen eggs and at the 
same time put ten eggs under a 
domestic hen to hatch. All the 
poults are given to the turkey hen 
to raise, as I find that a turkey 
knows more about taking care of 
poults than I do. I give her a good 
feed of corn and a drink of water 
and then let her go where she likes. If there is a 
meadow or pasture within three-quarters of a mile, 
that is where she will go. I have one hen that hatched six- 
teen poults and I gave her nine more hatched by a domestic 
hen and she raised twenty-two of them. I have never seen 
a fence that will confine turkeys unless one wing is clipped, 
then a four-foot netting with a barbed wire above will keep 
them confined, but I do not wish to confine my turkeys ex- 
cept occasionally for a short time. Once in a while I have 
a hen that wanders too far from home to build her nest. 
I have an orchard covering about two acres which is in- 
closed with netting and barbed wire and in which I keep my 
Silver Laced Wyandottes during the breeding season. I 
bring the wandering turkey home, clip her wing and put her 
in the pen described until she lays out her clutch. If a hen 
and her brood get to running away and going to the neigh- 
bors', I put them in the chicken yard for about ten days, 
after which I have no further trouble with them. I look 
after the hens with poults on bad days when I cannot work 
in the fields. If 1 find any weak poults I examine them for 
lice, and if I find any lice I give the poults a good dusting 
with insect powder. If the weather is dry, the poults find 
enough dust in which to wallow to keep down the lice, but 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



31 



!f it is wet weatlier you must loolv out for lice. I am satis- 
fled tliat nine-tenths of tlie poults that die are fed to death 
or are killed by lice. 

RANGE— FOOD— HOVSINC. 

I give my turkeys unlimited range and feed nothing un- 
til July 15th, then I drive them home every night and give 
them a little corn. In about a week they will come home 
at night for food and to roost and I have no further trouble 
with them until I am ready to sell or show. Some writers 
claim that wet weather and heavy dews are fatal to poults. 
If such were the case I should not have a poult to-day, as 
the past season was the wettest we have had in several 
years. Still I have more poults now than I ever raised before 



range, as they must have exercise and a variety of food, 
which they cannot obtain except on an extensive range. If 
you will examine the crop of a poult after September first 
th.at has had plenty of range, you will And grasshoppers, 
bugs and worms, together with several varieties of weed 
and grass seeds, but very little grain. Some persons claim 
that a turkey will eat more than a hog. I had a chance to 
test the matter last winter when I had sixty-five turkeys 
on hand and there came a severe snow storm which pre- 
vented the flock from getting anything to eat except what 
I fed them. The sixty-five did not eat a half bushel of corn 
a day during the week I fed them. 

Never discard a good bird because it is getting old. I 
have known hens to be flrst-class breeders when seven years 




Champion Jr. One of B. F. Ulrey 's Chicago Cap Winners. Score 97 Points by B. N. Pierce. 



in one season. I have never had but two sick turkeys dur- 
ing the years I have been in the business. One of these was 
crop-bound. I poured about a pint of warm milk down her 
throat and kneaded her crop with my fingers for about ten 
minutes, then gave her a tablespoonful of castor oil and she 
was all right the net day. The other was a three-year-old 
torn which dropped off the roost dead. I commence feeding 
my turkeys all they will eat about November first and con- 
tinue feeding until about February first, then I let them 
hustle for their living and they will be in good breeding 
condition. 

I never house turkeys, as the trees and fences are the 
natural roosting places for turkeys and I think that the 
nearer they are raised as nature does the better the results. 
Turkeys cannot be raised sucessfully without plenty of 



old. The best tom I ever owned, both as a breeder and an 
exhibition bird, I sold when he was three years old because 
I thought he was getting too old for a breeder. The person 
to whom I sold him used him two seasons and he proved a 
successful breeder. Then this man sold him, thinking he 
was too old for breeding or showing, but his new master 
thought differently and showed him at Madison Square Gar- 
den, New York, last winter when he was five years old, and 
won the blue ribbon. Old "Champion" has a record of eigh- 
teen first prizes. He weighed thirty-flve pounds as a year- 
ling, forty pounds as a two-year-old and forty-three pounds 
when four years old. He was the sire of the first prize cock 
and second prize hen at Chicago, January, 1900, and to my 
knowledge, was the sire of eleven turkeys that scored 97 
points or better. 



32 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



STARTING THE BUSINESS. 

If I were to start in the business of raising turlieys, hav- 
ing the experience I now have, I should purchase three or 
four of the best females I could find that were near standard 
weight and as nearly perfect in color as I could find. I 
should also buy their sire if he had proved to be a good one 
and should mate them to him. If I could not get the sire, 
I should get a cockerel from the same mating that the fe- 
males were from and should mate him to the females. Then 
1 should save the eggs from the best hen, mark her poults 
and save a torn from her to mate with my flock the next 
season. The pullets 1 should take to another farm and mate 
to a tom from the home flock. In that way I could line- 
broed and not In-breed too closely. When I saw there was 
need of new blood, I should purchase a female from the 
breeder of whom I purchased my original stock, and in that 
way I would keep the same strain, but my birds would not 
be near enough related to affect their health and vigor. As 
surely as you introduce a new strain in your flock, you will 
lose both shape and color and it will take at least three 
years of careful mating to gel back where you were when 
you made the cross. 



I find that the breast and back are the most difficult 
sections to breed correctly in regard to shape. As a rule, the 
back is too narrow and too short. We want our birds broad 
across the shoulders with a long back and full round breast, 
rather long legs and large feet. In color we have the most 
difficulty with the wings, tail and back. The standard says 
iu regard to color of wings: "Primaries — Each feather 
evenly and distinctly barred across, with parallel bars of 
black and white extending the entire length of the feather." 
Of the color of the tail it says: "Black— each feather irregu- 
larly penciled with a narrow band of light brown and ending 
in a broad black baud with a wide edging of white or gray — 
white preferred." Now I find if we get a clear white barring 
in the wings we are sure to get white barring in the main 
tail feathers, which is a serious defect. In fact, I should not 
keep a bird for a breeder that had white barring in its tail. 
I also find that if we get a clear white edging on the tail and 
tail coverts we do not get a rich bronze on the back and tail 
coverts, and if we get a good bronze where the standard de- 
mands it, we are sure to get smutty white on the end of the 
t.iil and smoky white on the tail coverts. 

B. F. ULREY. 



--^^^^K^ 



TURKEYS RAISED WITHOUT HOUSING. 



Confining and Housing Turkeys — Turkey Eggs— Care of Poults— Feeding Corn Diseases— How to Begin. 



By B. F. Hislop. 




FEW years ago when we Anally concluded to because much depends on the females. The male, so our 



try turkey raising, we had already decided 
that the Bronze was the variety which suited 
us best, and we bought a trio in the fall in 
order to be ready, for business the following 
spring. We had no experience, so we began 
tc read up on the subject and to question 
our ueighbors about their methods of caring for the young. 
We found that most of the neighbors allowed the turkey 
hens to do all the work, and when winter came, if there was 
a large flock of turkeys the farmer's wife claimed all the 
credit, but if the turkey hens failed 
to raise large families, they had all 
the blame. At first we raised the 
poults with domestic hensand later 
decided to try the turkeys, but 
found the old ones so unruly that 
we again gave the poults to the 
domestic hens. We worked accord- 
ing to rules, kept the coops well 
scrubbed, etc., and we succeeded 
fairly well, raising as large a per- 
centage of poults as we have ever 
raised since, but rhe work we did 
that year, if applied to some other 
calling, would have obtained us 
far more money, and we concluded 
if raising turkeys required so much 
work we had better quit the busi- 
ness. The time we wasted doctor- 
ing colds that season would have 
discouraged most amateurs. We 
were afraid these colds might de- 
velop into roup, and so labored 

most patiently. We wish to say that we do not believe 
turkeys ever have roup as chickens do. We think the 
birds become debilitated from injudicious treatment from 
the time they are hatched, and when autumn comes the 
birds take cold, which develops into chronic catarrh. We 
do not believe it is contagious, but a flock will be more or 
less affected, as all the birds are exposed to the same causes. 
It is hard to cure such colds, for if a man does not know how 
to prevent his flock from taking cold he is hardly likely to 
know how to cure them. There may be flocks that have 
the roup, but we have never seen any, though we have seen 
birds whose owners thought they had roup, but which we 
believed to be suffering from a severe cold. 

This year not one of our turkeys has a cold, although 
this is the season for it, and we think we understand why 
they liave escaped. In the first place, we changed the blood, 
as we believe inbreeding produces weak stock, although one 
does not need to make too great a change. We do not think 
that turkeys are as liable to be off in color as chickens are. 
and so we have no hesitancy in putting a fine tom at the 
head of our flock without tracing his pedigree. A tom will 
do a large part in elevating a flock, but he cannot do it all. 




First Prize Young Tom^ Chicago and Indiana State Fair, 
1900, OH ned and bred by B. F. Hislop. 



experience teaches us, has much to do with the size, with 
the length of the bones, markings of the tail and wings, and 
also the shape of the body, but if the females are too small 
and poorly marked, one cannot expect anything first-class 
from such a mating. A large percentage of judges are very 
particular about the markings of the tails and wings of 
turkeys, so one has to look after these sections. Some 
judges are very particular about having a good bronze, al- 
though shape, size, etc.. will help one out, but the best 
judges want a bronze, not a black or brown. Many breeders 
cannot see bronze in any but their 
own birds, but when the birds are 
all together in a show room, a per- 
son, if he has an eye for beauty, 
can select the bronze birds, and so 
can the judge — which is one good 
point for comparison judging. 

CONFINING AND HOUSING TURhCYS. 

We do not think turkeys can be 
raised in large flocks without a 
large range, although we have 
never tried raising them in con- 
finement. A turkey is naturally a 
forager and in roaming about pro- 
cures its proper food. Even if a 
person has solved the food prob- 
lem (we do not think we have) 
and confines his turkeys, intending 
to feed them, he would prevent 
them from taking the proper exer- 
cise which they require as much 
as they do food, if they are to at- 
tain the greatest possible size and vigor. We find that the 
lack of size and vigor is to be seen in poults raised by do- 
mestic hens. We have been asked if it is best to house 
turkeys. We .have never housed them ourselves. They have 
always roosted at night in the trees and lived around the 
buildings during the day, but we intend to try housing them 
somelime because from what we have learned we tiiink it 
would be a good plan. We shall use sheds open to the 
south, with trees for protection on the open side. We have 
a grove that is a great protection to our flock, but we think 
they need more. When a bird stands around on a cold, bleak 
day, all drawn up and then goes to sleep on a naked limb, 
with the wind blowing a blizzard around him all night, we 
cannot see that it is of any benefit to him. He has the same 
sort of body that other stock has and if he has no shelter to 
keep him warm, his food has to do it. Plenty of fresh air 
does not mean that birds must be out of shelter. We do not 
think that over seventy-five turkeys in one flock will do well 
and we prefer fifty or less. It does not matter how early 
turkeys are hatched. The hens in this climate will not com- 
mence to lay much before the first of April, and the later 
hatched will lay about as soon as the early ones, unless 
verv late hatched. 



34 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



I^ REGARD TO TURHEYS. 

We do not keep the young birds for breeders because 
they are not matured enough. Breeders should be at least 
ten or eleven months old, the older and more mature the 
fow is, the better the breeder. We may not get so many 
eggs from the females, but we get better ones. The one 
drawback to two-year-old turkeys and older is that we let 
them get too fat in this corn country during the winter. 
W'j have never been able to secure such large, clutches of 
eggs as some claim. We get an average of twelve in the 
first clutch and about ten in the second. Some hens will 
lay more, and some will lay three clutches, but they are less 
in number and we never count much on them, for the hens 
usually hide their nests and we seldom bother about them. 
Occasionally a hen willl lay a large number of eggs, in fact, 
vvili lay all summer, but such eggs are seldom fertile. We 
have mated fifteen females with one torn with good results, 
and we do not believe there was any larger percentage of in- 
fertile eggs than when we mated a torn with two females. 
Turkey eggs are usually fertile if the hens are not too fat. 
We put our hens on "starvation rations," as we call it, when 
nearing the breeding season. At that time we feed mostly 
oats, meat and vegetables. Turkey eggs incubate in twenty- 
eight days, and when the weather is very warm a day or so 
less time is required, but we do not remember ever having 
one sit over twenty-eight days. Turkey hens seldom hide 
their nests for the first clutch. In the second they make the 
attempt, but we watch them and if they want to go too far 
away we drive them nearer home and thus get them to com- 
mence laying in a nest more convenient to us. We gather 
the eggs and keep them in a cool place, placing them on the 
small end, and if we should keep them long, we turn them, 
but as a rule, we do not keep them long enough to take that 
trouble, for if we do not set them ourselves, our customers 
arc waiting for them. We have generally had better suc- 
cess in putting eggs under domestic hens, but we do not let 
them raise the poults. We always have a turkey hen wait- 
ing to take them. If a turkey has been sitting two weeks, 
or even less, she will take the young if they are put under 
her when a few hours old. We have tried putting pipped 
eggs under the turkey, but too many of them get mashed, 
so this year we waited until the poults were a few hours old. 
If a turkey chooses to sit in the proper place, we put eggs 
under her and set a domestic hen at the same time, but give 
all the poults to the turkey. 

CARE OF POULTS. 

We used to keep the poults and the mother hen penned 
up for about ten days or two weeks, feeding the young tur- 
keys three or four times a day on boiled eggs, dandelions, 
curd and bread soaked with milk. They did very well, but 
we think now it was a mistaken kindness, for we lost a 
larger per cent of the young in the fall. We think that 
with all our care we invariably overfed, but they did not 
show the effects until fall. Now we make a practice of 
keeping the hen and poults penned up four or five days, feed- 
ing very sparingly on boiled eggs, dandelions or any green 
plant, such as onions or lettuce, and a little bread. We 
have discarded curds altogether as we think it is too much 
work for the benefit, in fact, we have almost concluded that 
it is a detriment to the turkeys, for when we fed it we were 
bothered by the fowls having worms more than we are now. 
This season we went to very little trouble to feed them after 
the hen was set at liberty. If it were convenient we fed 
them twice or three times a day, but it not, we looked after 
them at evening to see where they roosted, and fed them, 
giving them some kind of cooked food, oatmeal, and bran, 
and later a mash composed of equal parts of corn meal, 
middlings and bran, with a little meat meal, bone and Vene- 
tian red. The food we gave them was so little that we did 



not consider it necessary, and as they grew older they ilid 
not have use for it, but we still fed them in order to keep 
them tame and teach them that they had a home. Never- 
theless, we frequently had to drive them home. A turkey 
on a farm range will take care of her flock and raise them 
strong and vigorous with very little food from the house. 

There is much ado about young poults being killed by 
damp weather and by being out in the dew. By the time a 
turkey hatches in this climate it is not likely to be very 
cold, and unless the ground is so low that the land is 
flooded, there is little danger from rains. This has been a 
very wet summer in our locality, and we had hens out in 
heavy rains when the poults were but a few days old and 
we did not lose a poult nor did the young get wet. We have 
a large orchard and grove that furnishes a great deal of 
protection, but often the hen sat out as far from the trees 
as she could get, not to entirely leave the orchard, still there 
were no poults drowned. .We think during such wet spells 
that the poults need to be fed more regularly, as they cannot 
hunt for their food. We have lost more j'oung by having 
the old hen go into a coop with a part of the flock, the other 
part being left out and drowning, than we ever did when the 
hen was out with the flock. After the frosts kill the bugs, 
grasshoppers, etc., the turkeys require more food, and we 
feed them morning and night a small ration, increasing it 
as the food in the meadows and pastures decreases. In the 
morning we feed a mash with the same ingredients that we 
fed to the poults while young, with the addition of charcoal 
and oil meal in small quantities. We also give them 
cracked bone and grit, all they will eat of the latter, and at 
night coarse cracked corn and soaked oats. Now if the 
young poults are not fed to death, so to speak, there will be 
little, if any, indigestion, and if a case now and then appears 
lessen the food, and in individual cases give the fowl a full 
tablespoonful of castor oil with from flve to ten drops of 
turpentine in it. If one dose is not enough, give two or 
three, or even more, one dose a day, and search for lice. We 
have invariably noticed that the debilitated fowl always be- 
comes lousy and generally has worms, as these pests invari- 
ably follow indigestion. 

FEEDING CORN. 

Do not begin too soon to feed corn. Las*^ year we fed 
our chickens considerable cracked corn in the outside 
scratching pens. Our turkeys soon learned this and were 
on hand by three or four o'clock, if they had not hung 
around all day waiting for evening, and they got a large 
share of the corn. As a consequence, we lost a lot of fine 
birds from indigestion. We could not cure it, as we did not 
remove the cause. We wanted fat chickens and we paid for 
them with our best turkeys, but we learned our lesson. 
Keep your turkeys going out on the range as long as pos- 
sible. Drive them away in the morning if they will not go. 
When the weather becomes cold and the proper time for fat- 
tening comes, then feed corn and heavy grain. We would 
never fatten the birds intended for breeders if the purchas- 
ers did not demand heavy weights, as fat is a detriment to 
the birds. We cannot blame the purchasers, as this is about 
the only way they can be sure of getting a large fowl and 
so they call for actual weights: but the tall, rangy, well- 
shaped, long, coarse-legged turkey, even if he does look 
slim in the fall, is the one that will be a large bird. Our 
first turkeys purchased were low, blocky birds, and they 
were almost as heavy in the late fall as they ever got. We 
thought them fine at first, but it did not take us long to 
change our minds, so that the next autumn we purchased 
a trio of birds from a well-known breeder. When they came 
the fowls were but a pound or two heavier than our old 
stock, but they were long legged, awkward, green looking 
birds, and we were pleased with them, for we could see into 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



35 



what they would develop and we were not disappointed. 
Sinco then we have known better what to purchase. Turkey 
raising is like a great many other things. One can read 
a gri?at deal about it, but the actual experience is necessary. 
More than that, it can never all be learned, nor does one 
pei-son possess more knowledge than all other turkey raisers 
combined. The longer one is in the business the less con- 
ceited he becomes if he has any success. 

MARKtTINC rUKKEYS. 

In catching poults or old turkeys, one must catch them 
by the legs, holding them just below the hocks with the 
legs together, laying the birds across the arm if you wish 
to curry them, or on something else if you do not. The cost 
of feeding a turkey on a farm does not amount lo more than 
50 cents per head, even with all the extras a breeder needs. 
auil the farmer's wife who lets the turkey do the raising is 
out so little one cannot estimate it. We purchase food for all 
our poultry together, using as we need it, and conse- 
quently when the time to balance comes we simply count up 
our expenses and income from all our flocks and look for 
the gain or income. When turkeys are raised for market, 
the heavy ones will pay the most profit fattened and sold 
for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but the younger and 
lighter weights that are not in as good condition as they will 
be later, can be marketed any time during the winter, as 
the turkey market does not fluctuate so very much for good 
stock. We Lave had dressers of poultry tell us that the 
Bronze turkeys were the finest they handled, but we do not 
believe they command a higher price than other varieties, 
all conditions being equal. Good dressed turkeys bring 
from eleven to twelve and one-half cents a pound ;n Chi- 
cago. Every breeder should dress his own fowls, as it will 
pay him in all instances. Have the fowls fat and do the 
wo."k nicely and .^-ou are sure of Che top price. 
LICE 0/V TURKEYS. 

We have not touched the lice question m regard lo 
young poults. Ws are not much in favor of greasing, ex- 
cept in using a little lard on the old hen when first taken 
from the nest and ou the tops of the poults' heads as a pre- 
ventive of head lice. We dust the old hen two or three 
times while she is sitting, and thoroughly when we give 
her the poults, then watch the young and as soon as we see 
lice on them, dust them with good insect powder, avoiding 
the white, as it makes them look shabby. We do consider- 
al)le dusting, once a week for a few months, but oftener if 
the lice compel us lo. Dust the old hen, too, for when tne lice 
are destroyed in this way at the beginning your trouble is 
over. We catch the young by having a box trap. Feed 
them in a bunch and when they commence to eat set the 
trap over them, the top of the box being laths with a little 
trap door in it so we can take the poults out one by one, dust 
them and let them go. In this way none are missed. It is 
not so easy to catch the old bird. Occasionally she escapes 
a dusting, but we manage to get her often enough to prevent 
trouble. We seldom have a sick poult, so we never experi- 
enced pulling wing feathers. Our trouble heretofore has 
been, as we said, in the fall, and we think we can steer clear 
of that better than we have. 



DISEASES OF TURKEYS AND RANGE. 

In our experience the diseases of turkeys are brought 
about by impaired digestion. If one can build up the consti- 
tution and remove the causes of the trouble one can cure 
many of them, but when the constitution has become thor- 
oughly broken down you might as well use the ax and stop 
the misery. Do not be too hasty, however, as many of them 
may be cured and marketed. Colds are not necessarily 
fatal, nor is rheumatism, although the latter is worse, but 
when a turkey gets the black head he is often dead before 
one gets a chance to doctor him, so the best way is to begin 
right and avoid such trouble. A large flock is more difficult 
to handle than a small one. We do not aim to raise over 
seventy-five in o>ir home flock, as the range is not good on 
the prairies and the pastures are too small. We all know 
that a large cattle pasture is an ideal range, but they are 
not to be found ia a locality like ours, where land is high 
and it is all under cultivation, besides one's neighbors do 
not like to see another man's turkeys in their oat fields 
or corn fields in the fall, although it is a well established 
fact that turkeys eat more injurious insects than they do 
grain and they are a benefit rather than a detriment, but 
you cannot make many farmers believe it, and it is useless 
to try. We are trying to console cur neighbors by compen- 
sating them in some way for the imagined damage, but with 
all that the yellow cur puts in his appearance occasionally 
and chews up a fine bird. It is not all clear sailing in the 
turkey business, and as we are located, if it were not for 
the pleasure we take in seeing a fine flock of the mammoth 
beauties, we shouhi quit the business. 

We do not think swampy ground would be a good place 
for turkeys, especially during a wet season. 

rOR THE AMATEUR. 

Were we to start in the turkey business, knowing what 
we do now, we should buy the best breeders we could find 
thai were for sale at a price we could stand and would not 
be afraid of a few dollars if we could afford it. We should 
build a shed for them, and if we did not have some kind of 
a grove we think we could ill afford not to build. We 
should start with the Bronze, for considering all we know 
of other breeds, we still like them best, and think that 
we can make the most money out of them. The market 
man prefers them tor their size and the fancier for their 
beauty. Judging from the numbers shown in our exhibi- 
tions, they are the most popular variety. 

A word to purchasers — when you wish to buy, first se- 
lect a reliable breeder and if you want breeding birds you 
can easily purchase them at a reasonable figure, but if you 
want show birds for breeders (which are the best) do not 
expect them at common breeding stock prices, for no man's 
whole fiock is composed of show birds, even if many of his 
old breeding stock were once show birds. If the breeder 
tells you that his birds were never beaten in the show, im- 
mediately learn where the birds were exhibited, whether in 
a local show or in a show like Chicago, New York or Bos- 
ton. No person has made a clean sweep at many large 
shows unless the competition was very small indeed. 

B. F. HISLOP. 



THE FARMER'S BEST FRIEND. 



The Mammoth Bronze Turkey So Proclaimed by One who Formerly Would l\ot Allow a Turkey on His Farm- 
Turkeys as Pest Destroyers — Selection of Breeders — Hatching and Raising Poults. 



By Mrs. J. M. Randolph. 



CONSIDER the most important thing in turlvey 
raising is good, healthy breeding stoclv. In se- 
lecting a tom 1 look for good markings on wings 
and tail, a long body, large legs and feet, and as 
the standard requires heavy weight, as large a 
bird as I can get that meets these requirements, 
although in my own judgment a thirty-two pound 
tom is large enough. I think most old turkey breeders will 
agree with me that there was a great mistake made in de- 
manding such heavy weight toms. As I believe the poults 
get size from the hens and markings from the tom, I select 
the hens with regard to size first, but with markings as good 
as I can get on large hens. 

About the middle of February or when the hens begin 
to cail — a sound familiar to all turkey breeders — and show 
siguo of mating. I remove them to a young orchard enclosed 
with poultry netting, and clip the right wing of each hen. but 
I never clip the tom's wing, as he will not give trouble by 
trying to fly out as a hen will do if her wing is not clipped. 
In this yard they have plenty of range, blue grass and 
clover and I never let them out until the breeding season is 
over. I believe every breeder should have an enclosed yard 
or park for turkeys. Much as I should dislike to give up 
raising turkeys, I would do so before I would go back to the 
old way of letting them have the run of the farm. I cannot 
forget long, weary, ofttiraes fruitless searches I have had 
trying to tind their uests, only, perhaps, to have them move 
again in a few days. 

We have a great many osage orange hedges in this part 
of the country and these hedges seem to be a favorite place 
for turkeys to hide their nests. I have had them follow the 
hedge more than a mile and then make their nests. Being 
in an enclosure not only ensures your getting all their eggs, 
but they can bo gathered often and thus avoid having them 
chill during the early spring months. 
TURKEY NESTS. 
Turkeys in this locality usually begin to lay the latter 
part of March. After confining them to the park 1 take 
some evergreen boughs and lean them against the poultry 
netting which adjoins a hedge fence on one side of the park, 
thus making a scheduled place for them to nest. I do not 
leave a very large opening, but let them creep in. and they 
think they are hiding their nests. Usually I keep about 
twenty-two bens and most of them will lay their first clutch 
of eggs In two of these nests, but later on when the grass 
grows knee high they will steal their nests and sometimes 
elude me for severai days or a week, but by that time it is 
warm encugii so that the eggs will not chill. 

HATCHING THE POULTS. 

Although turkey hens seem to be expressly designed to 
take care of their offspring and know how to do this part of 
their work to perfection, I have nut found them to be as 
good sitters as domestic hens. For several years I have not 
waited until I had a turkey want to sit, but as soon as I 
have enough eggs for several sittings I place them under 
domestic hen. About two weeks before they are due to 
hatch I put some hen eggs under a broody turkey hen and 



wheu the tnikey eggs begin to hatch I placed one or two 
eggs; under the turkey and she would own them without any 
trouble. 

Last spnng I kept breaking my turkey hens from sitting 
in order to keep them laying and so at one time some turkeys 
wern to hatch in a few days and there was no turkey mother 
for them. About that tirne I had another turkey want to sil, 
so I gave her, without moving her from the nest, two or 
three small Barred Rock chickens to see if she would own 
them, placing them under her just at dusk. Next morning 
she was hovering them and was very proud of her suddenly 
acquired family, so the next night I moved her to a 
building and gave her eighteen little turkeys, of which she 
seemed just as proud as if she had sat four weeks. This 
was a new idea to me. but I thought why not use that plan 
altogether and thus keep the turkey hens laying. I did so the 
balance of the season with eight or nine turkeys, giving 
them broods when they had sat only a few days and in some 
instances only over night. Just one hen out of this number 
refused to own and care for her brood, the others acted as if 
they had sat the allotted time. I shall try it again this sea- 
son and I feel confident it will work all right. 

The best success I ever had in raising poults was in a 
small lot with very short grass and- a very large coop or 
sm.all building in which they could roost. They were kept 
shut in on rainy d^ys and in the mornings until the dew 
dried off, until they were four to five weeks old. Then they 
were turned out to range, being driven back to their coops 
at night. For the first few weeks I find clabber cheese and 
green onion tops, pinhead oatmeal and millet seed to be good 
food for them. A little bone meal and small sharp grit also 
is put in their food once a day. I find sand and old plaster 
is good for them and a load of sand is hauled and 
placed where they can run to it. No one has any idea what 
a lot of sand young poults will eat until he undertakes to 
caii-y it to them as I did one spring. | 

At this season we always have plenty of milk and so I 
give them new milk every day, first boiling it to prevent 
bowel trouble. When the little poults are just one week old 
I pull out all the flight feathers in their wings. By the time 
they grow out again the little birds have more strength to 
stand the strain of growing them. Since following this plan 
I have had natch better success in raising them. 

I also go over them once a week and treat them for lice, 
rubbing a very little lard on top of the head, in the quill 
feathers on the wing and just below the vent. I lost a great 
many turkeys before I knew that when lice and mites were 
around the last named place they were most fatal. Remem- 
ber I said a very little iard. for smearing the body with 
grease is sure death, as I learned by sad experience. Occa- 
sionally I use Lambert's Death to Lice instead of lard. 

After they shoot the red and can be driven to the pas- 
tures and meadows it is surprising to see how they will 
thrive and grow with only a little food to induce them to 
come home at night. A more beautiful sight in poultrydom 
than a large drove of Mammoth Bronze turkeys with their 
bronze plumage glistening in the sunlight. I cannot imagine. 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



37 



TVRKErS AS PEST DESTttOYERS. 

Years ago I used to raise the old fashioned mixed tur- 
keys, but my husband grumbled so about what they de- 
stroyed that I gave up raising them when he said if I would 
do so he would give me his note to pay me as much each fall 
as a drove of tui'keys would bring. So I did not try to raise 
any for several years. Then a neighbor wanted to exchange 
some turkey eggs for some pure-bred Buff Cochin eggs and 
I made the exchange to accommodate her, besides I wished 
to raise a few to have for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I 
raised five very nice ones and killed two of them, but decided 
I could not manage any longer without turkeys and so kept 
a torn and two pullets to raise from the next year. The next 
fall I sold them all and bought six pure-bred turkey hens 
and a fine torn and went at it in good earnest so that the 
next year I had a fine drove. 

Near the house we had forty acres in clover and the 
grasshoppers were so plentiful that the turkeys seldom went 
moi-e than half way across the field until they had all they 
wanted. The result was that when the clover was cut for 
seed it was found that only the part where the turkeys had 
ranged was of any account. The grasshoppers had ruined 



the other part. That convinced my husband that turkeys 
were a good thing to have around, in grasshopper season at 
least. It was wonderful how those turkeys grew. 

This season we had our clover for seed on another part 
of the farm a mile or more from the house, and I had a 
drove of over one hundred turkeys. The grasshoppers ate 
up all the clover seed. Every day my husband would say, 
"I do wish those turkeys could get to that clover field, for 
the grasshoppers are ruining it. and I shall have to buy my 
clover seed." And so he did and he had to pay a good price 
for it. He said that after this experience he would try to 
havo his clover for seed near the house. A prominent tur- 
key In'eeder told me afterwards that I could have trained the 
turkeys to go to the field if I had begun to do it when they 
were first turned out to range. In a case of this kind again, 
I am going to try it. 

I hope this article may help some farmer's wife, whose 
husband, like mine did. does not think turkeys pay, and 
who, like myself, has need of some loose change. Perhaps 
the husband, like mine, will become convinced that turkeys 
are the farmer's best friend. 

MRS. J. M. RANDOLPH. 



SOME PRACTICAL Hll\TS. 



By O. E. Skinner. 




HILE I have not had as much experience in rais- 
ing lurkeys as a good many others. I have had 
continued experience with them for over thirty 
years, but my remaiks on the turkey will be 
from a practical standpoint and I shall leave 
thv-> I'ancier's portion to some expert judge. 

In the first place, everybody knows that turkey eggs, as 
a rule, hatch well, but the rock that wrecks all hopes is the 
art of raising them after they are hatched. One of the most 
successful turkey raisers I ever knew handled her young 
turkeys about as follows: She never let them out while 
there was the least particle of danger of getting their plum- 
age damp, even if she had to confine them a whole day. I 
was there once after a heavy rain and she had them closely 
confined in a small box. I made the remark, "You will 
surely kill every one of them confining them in such a 
place." But upon visiting her a few months later she still 
had every turkey that had hatched. I believe this is the 
great secret in turkey raising — keep them absolutely dry 
and free from lice and nature will do the rest. 

Another neighbor who is just about as successful han- 
dles his the same way. only he uses turkey hens for mothers. 
He follows the same plan about keeping them from getting 
their plumage damp when young. He has domestic hens sit- 
ting on the eggs, but he keeps giving them at night to the 
turkey hens until they have some twenty-five or thirty each. 

The cry nowadays is for as large turkeys as possible. 
This is, all right provided you retain the full breast and good 
shape generally. If you will observe the daily market re- 
ports, you will notice that the quotations say that scrawny 
turkeys (poor shape) are either not wanted or will be taken 
only at a big discount. So after all it is the shape that sells 
the turkey rather than the overgrown size. I have always 
made it a point to breed for full breast and good shape more 
than for oversize. The cockerel shown in connection with 
this article is five and a half months old. As an indication 
of his size when grown, notice his throat wattles. This, if 
large, is always a good indication for size when the bird is 
matured. 

As to feed. I do not believe it cuts much figure if the 



other sanitary conditions, noted above, are closely followed. 
Plenty of sharp grit I believe necessary for best results, 
however. 0. E. SKINNER. 




Bred and Owned by 0. E. Skinner. 



EASY TURKEY RAISING. 



Perhaps the Soil and Climate of Some Localities Make it Possible to Leave Turkeys to Mother Nature's Kindness 
While In Other Parts of Our Country They l\eed Much Fostering Care. 



By W. A. Moon. 



BELIEVE there is no branch of the poultry business 
more profitable than the raising of turkeys, and tor 
the true turkey fancier I think there is no branch of 
the business from which we derive more pleasure. I 
take more delight in my beautiful flock of Bronze 
turkeys than in any other poultry I ever, raised. But I am 
writing this article to give my experience in order to help 
others it possible who are about to start, so I will begin 
to talk busintss. 

I think the best way to start is to buy stock. It is better 
than buying eggs unless the person who buys the eggs has 
some kind of turkeys to hatch and raise the young poults. I 
will state right here that I never was successful in laising 
young turkeys with domestic hens. In buying stock buy the 
best you can get. Do not make the mistake of buying in- 





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S^u^Ih 


-■^^, /■% " .•" 


"g^^^ 


^^^^^^^Hp^^^^^H 


s^^^^^^ 



A Superior Wing, as Grown on a 4S-pound Winner, Br<-d by 
£d. Isley. 

ferior stock because it is cheap. I know the prices of any 
leading fancier seem pretty high to a beginner, but his 
birds are almost always worth all he asks for them, which is 
also true of the cheap birds offered on the market. They 
are worth about what is asked for them and no more. If 
you start with inferior stock it will take you several years 
to reach the point at which you might have started by the 
payment of a few more dollars. 

nATcniNC or the poults. 
In this latitude turkey hens usually begin to lay about 
the first of April. One can usually tell when they are seek- 
ing a nest by their peculiar call. I always have barrels laid 
down around the yard fence and in the corners, with straw 
placed in them for nests. Turkeys like a secluded place in 
which to lay. Boxes laid down close to the fence so they 
can creep in between the box and the fence to enter the box, 
make excellent nests. The turkey hen will usually lay 
twelve to fifteen eggs before she offers to sit. I gather the 



eggs every day and keep hen or chiua eggs in the nests for 
nest eggs. 

Along toward the last of the clutch the turkey hen will 
begin staying on the nest at night, but don't trust her with 
a sitting of eggs yet. She will frequently do that two or 
three nights and then be off all day and perhaps all night. 
She is just beginning to get broody. Let her get thoroughly 
broody and then give her the eggs. I generally set them in 
the same place where they get broody with this exception. I 
always set them on the ground. If they have been laying 
in a barrel, I remove the barrel, hollow out an ob- 
long place in the ground about two inches deep, line 
it nicely with the nest out of the barrel, make it 
secluded by covering with boards in some manner, and 
she is ready to go it alone..! frequently set a domestic hen on 
she is ready to go it alone, I frequently set a chicken hen on 
tui'key eggs at the same time and then give all the poults to 
the turkey hen, which plan usually gives her twenty or more 
poults, which is enough. She should not have more than 
this, for after they grow a few weeks it is difficult for her to 
cover them. I have found that as a general rule, the greater 
the number of poults with one hen the greater is the percen- 
tage of loss 

I used to put the turkey hen in a coop or pen and keep 
her up for about two weeks. This last year I tried a new 
plan. I just let them come off the nest with their little ones 
and go, and I believe that is the better plan. I keep watch on 
them that they do not stray clear away and let them range 
in the fields all the time. Do not be alarmed every time it 
rains a little for fear your turkeys will all drown. A turkey 
hen hardly ever allows a little turkey to drown, unless she 
has too many. She selects a suitable place and hovers in 
such a manner that it is impossible for them to drown. 

Last spring I bought nine eggs from a leading fancier. 
From them I hatched five fine poults. A small hole was 
punched in the web of the foot and they were given to a tur- 
key hen with some others hatched the same time and 
she was allowed to go with them. I did not know them 
any more from my own turkeys until this fall when I caught 
all my turkeys to put on leg bands and take a record of 
them, and I found four with a hole in the web of the foot. I 
only lost one of them. I paid $5 for the eggs, but those four 
turkeys are easily worth $20. So it sometimes pays lo buy 
eggs. 

Young turkeys roost on the ground until about the time 
the red begins to show in the head. They then fly into a 
tree or on a fence somewhere. Then if you will see to it 
that they roost about the home you will not likely have any 
trouble with them straying away. 

They will get their entire living in the fields until about 
September, when I generally begin to throw out some corn 
to them morning and night. It is a pleasure to feed them 
from this time on. They will meet you in the morning with 
such a chorus of "Gobble, Gobble," and they grow so fast 
that by Christmas the young toms weigh from twenty-five to 
twenty-eight pounds and the pullets from fifteen to eighteen 
pounds. W. A. MOON. 



TWELVE YEARS WITH BRONZE TURKEYS. 



A Successful Breeder Entertainingly Writes About His Experience In Raising Bronze Turkeys For the Benefit of 
Beginners he Tells How to Start in the Business, and How to Raise and Show Turkeys. 



By Ed. Isley. 




OU ASK for my experience in raising Bronze 
turlceys, how I started in the business, and so 
on. I have no inclination to air my opinions 
in print, nor do I wish to get into any contro- 
;»e>, versy (ir argument with those who differ with 
me. They are entitled to their opinions, and I to mine. But 
for the benefit of those who may like to know, I will give 
my experience with the bird in question. 

I began twelve years ago by purchasing eggs from a reli- 
able breeder, at what then seemed a fabulous price. I 
risked so much and was rewarded with a poor hatch at the 
end of four weeks. The few that did hatch made fine mar- 
ket fowls only, and they were sold at market prices. So a 
whole year was gone and I had no turkeys for my labor. 

Were I now to make a start in the business, having my 
prasent knowledge to guide me, I should purchase a fine pair 
or trio or breeding pen, as this would be much the quicker 
way of getting into business. Do not understand by this 
that I am opposed to buying eggs, for I am not. The choice 
between eggs and stock must be governed entirely by one's 
means. If the capital is very limited buying eggs offers the 
cheapest way of entering the business, although I believe 
the purchasing of stock to be the better plan and more satis- 
factory to both buyer and seller. The buyer is able to knov.- 
positively just what he is breeding and his satisfaction de- 
rived from this knowledge is greater than if he buys eggs 
even though the poults hatched from the eggs prove to be 
the equal of those bred from the stock. If one feels able to 
do so he might invest in a sitting or two of eggs also. Then 
when the poultry show stason comes in the fall and winter 
he would have both old and young stock to show. 

THE BREEDING STOCK. 

In selecting breeding stock give the preference to shape 
and color, rather than size. My experience has proven to me 
that abnormally large birds are unprofitable and disappoint- 
ing except as show birds. A young tom weighing from 
twenty-five to thirty pounds and adult tom weighing from 
thirty-six to forty pounds are as large birds as can be used 
without injury to the hens. Young hens weighing from fif- 
teen to eighteen pounds and adult hens weighing from eigh- 
teen to twenty pounds are more prolific and better mothers 
than those which attain a great size. 

One tom and ten females make a nice flock, but if it is 
desirable to keep more hens in one flock two toms may be 
used by keeping each in a small yard on alternate days, 
allowing the hens to have their liberty, as they need the 
range and variety of food which they obtain in that way. 
Were the same food offered them while confined in a yard, 
they would not eat it. Turkeys require range. They are 
restless and will not eat nor lay well if deprived of their 
liberty. 

I find that very early laying in this latitude is not desir- 
able, because many of the eggs are liable to be chilled and 
the poults cannot be hatched to advantage before the latter 
part of April or the first of May. Sometimes we have a cold. 



rainy spring that lasts even later, and little turkeys seldom 
live through a storm. The hens are less likely to lay early 
if the quantity of food is lessened as the severity of the win- 
ter decreases. Another objection to early laying is that it 
entails late laying, and a hen sometimes will leave her brood 
when half grown ro raise a second brood — which is fatal to 
both because the first poults need a leader and protector 
until nearly full grown, and the poults of the second brood 
are too small to stand the cold weather. It is natural for the 
turkey hen not to lay until spring weather is certain, and 
she never will desert her progeny. With our cultivation and 
civilization we sometimes get too far from Mother Nature. 

RAISING YOUNG TLRKEYS. 

There is a great diversity of opinion in regard to the best 
way to raise young turkeys. After twelve years' experience 




4 Tail that is Above the Average—It Belongs to a 96-point 
Young Tom Shown by Ed. Isley. 

I am decidedly in favor of the turkey hen as a mother. I 
use the hens for hatching, setting a domestic hen at the same 
time, and give all the poults to the turkey because she makes 
the best mother. If the hens are to act as brooders, never 
clip their wings, because they will need them for protec- 
tion of their young from dew and storm. 

Great care should be taken not to feed the young poults 
too much at one time. This is the rock, if I may be permit- 
ted to use this figure of speech, on which the frail barks of 
thousands of poults have struck and gone down, together 
with the plans and hopes of their zealous but misguided 
owntrs. The natural habit of turkeys is to hunt for their 
food and they do it slowly and deliberately all the long day. 
Thus the process of eating aud digesting are simultaneous; 
but when they are fed with a lavish hand they gorge them- 
selves and in a few weeks fall victims of their own greed. 



40 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANACxEMENT. 



THE SHOW ROOM. 

Preparing Bronze turkeys for the show room Is a very 
simple matter if the birds have had good care during the 
summer and fall. I do not mean by this that they should be 
fattened, but they should be kept in a thrifty condition— just 
such condition as you would like to have them in if you were 



buying instead of selling. Washing their feet if they are 
dirty, and putting a numbered leg band on the leg, is all the 
preparation that is necessary. On no account attempt to 
wash the plumage, as the brilliancy will be greatly injured 
by soap and water. A turkey takes perfect care of his own 
feathers. ED ISLEY, 

Proprietor Cherry Grove Poultry Farm. 



THE WATCHWORD OF SUCCESS. 



Experience, Watchfulness and Common-sense Are Necessary to Raise Prize-winning Bronze Turkeys— Something 

About Coops for the Mother and Her Poults— Do Not Overfeed. 



By Mrs. Nellie Bullock. 




'ERE I to begin the breedingof fancy turkeys 
and could have the benefit of my present 
knowledge, I think I should buy stock, the 
very best my purse would allow, even if 1 
had to limit my flock to a pair. We bought 
eggs at different times from three noted fanciers, but 
something went wrong each time, either the eggs were in- 
fertile, or not strong enough to hatch, or the poults would 
manage to die. So I think the quicker way to secure a good 
flock would be to purchase birds. Turkeys are hardy after 
they are half grown, and most persons would sell cheaper 
then than after they are grown. It would not be a bad idea 
to Invest in half-grown birds. 

Raising the poults is the hard task for most beginners, 
and some of the more experienced ones have their hands full 
when they try to raise a large per cent. Practical experi- 
ence, watchfulness and plenty of common sense applied to 
the varying circumstances, are necessary to success. Our 
plan is somewhat as follows: First, we require a roomy coop 
with a dry floor, covered with timothy or clover chaff. Con- 
fine the mother, either a chicken or a turkey hen, on rainy 
days. On dry, sunshiny days, tether her to an apple tree 
limb, having the coop near. Clean the floor twice a week at 
least. If the earth is dry, it will serve very well as a floor, 
otherwise, a raised board floor would be better. Dust both 
the mother and the poults thoroughly twice a week with 
Persian insect powder. For dusting the poults, I keep a two 
gallon, flaring earthenware crock. We put a handful of 
powder in the crock, then hold the poult by the feet over the 
crock and dust it until it looks yellow all over. I do not 
have so much trouble with lice as I did when I put the pow- 
der on in spots. Keep the water dishes clean and full. 

We try not to overfeed, and neither do we starve them, 
for one Is as bad as the other. We console ourselves if occa- 
sionally a poult dies, or several of them die at one time, with 
the thought that our neighbors, too, lose poults and that 
very few, no matter how much knowledge they have on this 
subject, can raise all that hatch. 

TURKEYS AS HATCHERS. 

There was an interesting item in the Reliable Poultry 
Journal some years ago over the initials C. H. A., which we 
reproduce: 

"A great deal is being said lately about using turkeys 
for hatching hen eggs, so I will give my experience. It has 
been really comical to see the look of doubt on the faces of 
people when told that we had turkeys which had never laid 
any eggs, sitting. Too polite to dispute the statement, their 
looks plainly said, 'Does he expect me to believe that story?' 

"When I first read in an English poultry book of the 



French method of using turkeys to hatch and care for chick- 
ens, I had no Incubator and concluded to try the plan. Late 
in the fail I sent out in the country and bought a late 
hatched hen turkey for very little money. In February we 
prepared a box (with plenty of chaff over a layer of horse 
manure) that could be shut up to exclude the light. Did not 
give either wine or whisky, but in two or three weeks she 
was sitting quietly on the china eggs and when taken off the 
nest to be fed, would voluntarily return. I then filled the 
nest with hens' eggs, removing them as soon as they began 
to pip to keep the turkey from wanting to leave the nest and 
putting in ether eggs. After sitting three months she was 
put in a yard with chickens for the rest ofthe summer. We 
put chickens of different ages with her and she received 
them all with equal kindness. 

"This year we have two turkeys, besides an incubator, 
and after hatching three sittings of eggs we thought best to 

-^ fcft. ^ 




Ideal Turkey Coop for Hen and Poults. 

take them off the nest, but one watched her chance and went 
back on the nest till I filled it with eggs again, so I let her 
stay. The other is laying and will be ready for work later 
if needed. 

"They make careful, patient mothers, are equal in that 
respect to any hen, and it is a wonder that farmers do not 
make more use of ihem than they do." 

We have a coop for turkeys and poults which we find 
almost ideal. It is two feet high in the back and three feet 
in front: six feet long and three feet wide. The door is 
large enough to allow a turkey hen to walk in and out with- 
out inconvenience and the coop is" large enough to allow a 
turkey hen and twenty poults to walk around when they are 
conflned during a rainy day. We use two doors, one made 
of lumber for stormy times, the other of inch mesh wire net- 
ting for warm nights. Thus plenty of fresh air is admitted 
and small rats or larger animals are kept out. 

MRS. NELLIE BULLOCK. 
Woody Rill Poultry Farm. 



TURKEYS IN NEW ENGLAND, 



Dressing and Shipping Turkeys for Market— Difficulty of Raising Poults— A \ew England Turkey Farm— General 

Information on Turkey Culture In the East. 



By Ceo. H. Pollard. 



— . A IFTY years ago turkeys were common enough on 
"^ New England farms. The cock birds gobbled 

— -v\ and strutted and told love stories under the 
shade of the hay stacks, while the fields and 
woods were traversed alike by young and old. 
About the only foes they had were the wily fox and the 
pooi-ly trained dog. Sickness and disease were practically 
unknown. The flocks were made up of healthy, hardy birds, 
without any great pretentious to aristocratic forebears, but 
with the sturdy grit and get there which were characteristic 
of all New England life at that period, whether horses, poul- 
try or people. 

Most flocks traced their lineage back to some brave 
brood hatched in the freedom of the primeval forests. 
Doubtless much of their hardmess and self-sufficiency were 
inherited from this .source. Certain it is that barring the 
moving accidents of field and flood, together with the perils 
from the depredations of mink, fox and such like vermin, a 
brood of young turkeys hatched meant sure good cheer for 
the Thanksgiving board and Christmas gathering. 

Unfortunately these conditions are now greatly changed. 
The New England turkey growers of the present day find 
troubles, not only such as are due to depredations of wild or 
unruly animal life, but also suffer greatly from the various 
diseases and sicknesses which seem to be part and parcel of 
turkey raising under present conditions. Instead of wholly 
producing her own supply and exporting large numbers to 
other parts of the world, she is now dependent upon an im- 
ported crop of alien birds, a crop which comes from nearly 
all parts and sections of this country, while many are 
brought even from Canada. All, however, is not lost, and 
we are still able to produce in southern Rhode Island, east- 
ern and southern Connecticut and in Vermont and New 
Hampsnire, such turkeys as delight the appetite and senses 
of the most fastidious of epicures. Their reputation is not 
confined to New England, but covers the whole country and 
reaches to foreign lands. 

Nowhere else in the whole world are produced turkeys 
of such flavor and quality as go out from Rhode Island and 
Connecticut under the common name of Rhode Island tur- 
keys. So well known are these birds, and so highly es- 
teemed ure they, that not only the president's table at 
Washington, but the tables of many of the leading diplomats 
and officials who congregate in that city of high living and 
epicurean appetites are supplied at holiday and other times 
with choice specimens of the turkeys raised in this section. 
The Boston markets handle a large share of the stock pro- 
duced in these states. Considerable numbers are al.^o sent 
abroad to serve as central dishes at holiday and other elabo- 
rate banquets. Some of the leading men of Rhode Island have 
for years made it a custom to send to friends in England and 
on the continent as perfect specimens of the native Rhode 
Island turkey as can be procured. The fame which has come 
to these Rhode Island flocks may thus be seen to easily lead 
that of any other section or state. It is hard to say what 
gives the perfect flavor and delicious cooking qualities. Epi- 



cure.s disagree as to the cause, while all agree that the qual- 
ities do exist.. 

Hard pressing the Rhode Island and Connecticut turkeys 
come the Vermont birds. Ranging generally from two to 
three cents per pound lower in price, they are yet fit feasting 
for the very gods of poultry. These Vermont birds mature 
quickly, and when dressed show plump, yellow skin and 
brei.sts wihch appeal to the eye no less than to the taste. 

DirriCVL TY OF REUSING • OVL TS. 

The causes which have lead to the decay in production, 
aside from the old-time troubles from dogs, foxes and simi- 
lar vermin, are not well understood. For one reason or 
another it has become very hard to raise the young birds. 
The breeding birds are hardy, strong and in every way vig- 
orous. The females are good layers. The eggs are perfect 
in shell and shape. There is no trouble from lack of fer- 
tility and there seems to be abundant vitality in the germs 
which leads to good hatches. Notwithstanding this appar- 
ent vigor atd strength, the young poults do not live and 
thrive as they should. Every precaution has been taken to 
assure good resulta. Wild and half wild males have been 
brought from the south and west and mated with the native 
females for the infusion of fresh blood and stamina. Whole 
flocks of western birds have been brought here and tried. 
So far the results have not been satisfactory. Although the 
leading breeders and poultrymen have studied the matter at 
close range, and the state colleges, assisted by the United 
States government, have helped in the work, the problem is 
as yet unsolved. While the roving proclivities of the birds 
make them rather undesirable in the more thickly settled 
parts of the country, there are hundreds of farms which 
might be made to produce an immense number of turkeys at 
very profitable prices, if only the art of growing the young 
could be re-discovered, or successfully practiced. There is 
a demand for this product which cannot possibly be filled. 
Prices are high and are growing constantly higher for the 
best grades of birds raised here in New England. Until 
some decided change comes there is no probability of any 
drop in prices or of any very great addition to the amount 
of stock which will be marketed. In addition to the demand 
for the holiday trade and the usual sizes, there is a con- 
stantly growing call for small, early-hatched turkeys to be 
used as broilers. The price for these birds at two pounds 
to tivo and one-half pounds each ranges from $3 to $4 and 
sometimes $5 per pair. These are prices which are ex- 
tremely profitable, and could the young birds be hatched and 
supplied in sufficient numbers, it would be a very profitable 
undertaking for the producer. Nothing stands in the way 
of realizing this success save the difficulty in rearing the 
young birds. 

Nearly all the turkeys raised in New England are 
Bronze, or the one time popular Narragansett. Some White 
Hollands are bred, but the great bulk of the breeding flocks 
is made up of Bronze, either pure or grade. Of course there 
are all sorts- of mixtures made up of these breeds. In this 



42 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEAIEXT. 



respect they in a measure resemble the ordinary barn yard 
floclv of hens. The best producers and breeders, however, 
stick pretty ciosely to the pure breeds and in this way are 
able to carry the type ana quality of the birds to a more sa:- 
isfactory result in markdt poultry than could otherwise be 
attained. There is no tjuestion that in all branches pure- 
bred poultry though not necessarily bred to the feather, will 
produce market birds more even in size, shape and table 
qualities than any mixture which comes from the indiscrim- 
inp.te breeding together of various kinds, types and sizes. 
DRESSING AISD SHIPPING MARKET TURKEYS. 

Where do they come from? Every state where turkeys 
grow contributes to the array. Many used to be brought in 
from Canada. These came both alive and dressed. They 
used to be shipped in alive by the carload and were fattened 
and killed for the market. Sometimes they were not held 
for fattening, but were killed immediately upon arrival, 
Unuer the present tariff this importation has practically 
cea.?ed. About the only poultry now brought across the line 
from Canada are geese, and they do not count in this story. 
The Boston markst is unquestionably the most fastidious 
poultry market in the country. While, of course, much poor 
stock does come to this market, there is nothing like so 
large a proportion of poor poultry shipped to Boston as is 
used in other large eastern markets. The best turkeys, aside 
from those raised in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont 
and New Hampshire, come from the west. The best western 
turkeys come from Wisconsin and Michigan. These birds 
are all good sized, are perfectly dressed and the carcasses 
are fat and meaty. A very good quality comes from Iowa. 
Ohio, Indiana, lUiuois and Nebraska also ship immense 
numbers. Missouri sends quite a good many turkeys, but her 
principal shipments are geese, ducks and fowl and chickens. 
From the Virginias come large numbers, while Kentucky is 
sending birds of the very best quality. The southern birds 
cannot be shipped to good advantage except in the coldest 
months. 

The present methods of shipping are a very great ad- 
vance over those iu common use only a few years ago. Then 
all poultry from a distance had to be shipped by the regular 
passenger expresses, or come through on the slow freights. 
Shipping by freight was possible only in the coldest months, 
and the numerous delays and the consequent inability to tell 
when the goods would be received, made this method of 
shipping very unsatisfactory. Since the advent of the freight 
express v/ith refrigerator cars and other conveniences for 
keeping the temperature at a low degree, it has become pos- 
sible to ship all kinds of poultry long distances on schedule 
time, thus assuring prompt receipts in good condition. Much 
of the far-away poultry comes through in the warm months 
packed in ice. That is, an ordinary sugar barrel is, used; 
a layer of ice is put in the bottom of the barrel, this is cov- 
ered by a layer of turkeys, followed by another layer of ice, 
and so on till the barrel is full. Then it is covered by burlap 
and shipped by freight express direct to the eastern market. 
If by chance the shipment is delayed, the carrying company 
re-ices the barrels, and in this manner prevents serious loss 
of quality. There Is little doubt that poultry thus iced loses 
some of the flavor which it would otherwise have. The con- 
stant soaking for perhaps days at a time, while it keeps the 
birds sweet and free from taint, nevertheless take.s some- 
thing from their tine table qualities. 

The shape of the package has changed as much as the 
quality of its contents and the method of shipping. Ten 
years ago most of the turkeys came through in boxes of all 
sizes, shapes and (conditions. No attention was paid to uni- 
formity, and second-hand shoe, hat, coffee and canned goods 
and such other boxes as were available were used, together 
with barrels of varying sizes and conditions, from the little 



western apple barr^i up to the coffee and sugar barrels. The 
result of this method of packing was not altogether inviting 
to tbe eye of the buyer. Gradually more attention was given 
to the matter and a steady improvement has been made un- 
til at the present time boxes are made especially for the pur- 
pose. Barrels to some extent are also used at the present 
time, but not nearly so commonly as in years past. The 
size of the packages has also changed. The rule used to be 
to get as large a box as possible, cramming in as many tur- 
keys as it would hold without splitting. In some ways this 
made business good for the wholesale and jobbing houses, as 
there were many small dealers who were unable to handle 
full packages, who had to pay an extra profit for the privi- 
lege of selecting such birds as ihey needed. It is a question, 
however, if on the whole there was much gain to the whole- 
sale handlers, as there were generally enough odds and ends 
left to seriously detract from the profits as a whole. The 
demand for smaller packages came to be felt by shippers as 
well as wholesalers and commission men and steps were 
taken to supply the want- At the present time the boxes 
rarely weigh more than 150 to ?M pounds each, and great 
numbers are packed in boxes holding from ten to fifteen 
selected birds, while a less number hold from eight to 
twelve. This makes it possible for the small marketmen 
and provision dealers to buy a full package without any 
extra cost for breakage or selection, and at the same time 
doe.s away with a great deal of work and with much of the 
waste which was prevalent in the old method of packing and 
shipping. 

The common method of packing birds is to make one 
layer of torn turkeys in the bottom of the boxes, while the 
upper layer is made up of females. This gives a selection of 
sizes, and is better for the retailer than where they run 
pretty nearly one size throughout. The best shippers are 
known by their private shipping marks and it is tinderstood 
just how the birds may be expected to turn out. Generally 
the case is marked so many hens, so many toms. and if any 
old hens or old cock birds are iu the package, they are speci- 
fied on the outside so that the buyer may know just exactly 
what he is getting. In the long run honesty in packing 
makes returns in dollars and cents and there is no other one 
thing which tells better for a shipper than a reputation for 
hunv=st methods of boxing. 

The way of dressing has changed from time to time. 
Years ago a good many turkeys were shipped from the west 
undrawn and with heads on. They did not altogether suit 
the fancy of the trade. Unless unusual care was taken, they 
were pretty apt to arrive in a blood stained condition, due 
to the blood which oozed from the heads, and where the 
heads were wrapped in paper before shipping, the whole pre- 
sented a mussed and unfinished appearance to the eye of the 
dealer. Of late years the custom has settled into a pretty 
general method of drawing and heading the birds before 
shipping. They are thoroughly bled out, the carcasses are 
kept until the animal heat is altogether dispelled. The 
heads are removed and the skin drawn down over the end of 
the neck bones and is neatly tied, making it impossible for 
the birds to get at all stained or bloody in transit. Great 
care must be taken that all the blood is drained from the 
neck before tying else it will accumulate in the cavity at the 
end of the bone and next to the string which ties the skin, 
and will coagulate and turn the color of the neck to a dismal 
purple which will rapidly change to green, giving a decided- 
ly bad look, and if left any time, a worse flavor to the whole 
carcass. 

In the good old days the nearby turkeys, those from 
Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and 
such as were raised in Massachusetts, were brought to mar- 
ket nearly altogether by teams over the country roads. Many 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT, 



43 



of the producers marketed their own birds. They used to 
leave the*r homes from one to three days before the holiday 
season and drive overland to Boston, Providence, and the 
larger New England cities. The whole family assisted in 
dressing the turkeys, and the wings were generally left on. 
In fact, at the present time, a good many Rhode Island tur- 
keys come to market with the flight feathers left in the tip 
of the wing. They are in great demand by old-time house- 
wives to be used as brushes, and are famous for some special 



the commission houses and either from stands erected by 
themselves, or from wagons and push carts, make such sales 
as are possible to Ihe more gullible of the city's population. 
Thoir greatest trade comes, as a rule, from the lower classes 
of Italians and other imported peoples. The board of 
health furnishes an inspector whose duty it is to look up all 
cases of unfit poultry and other market products. It often 
seems that, in ths case of poultry at least, this inspeoiion 
must be made with not more than one eye and without any 













Dowin-to-Date Bronze Turkeys— By Sewell, 



kitchen uses. In some of the best markets there is a con- 
tinuous demand for turkey wings to be used for this purpose. 
At the present time, as in the past, any farmer or poultry 
dealer may, by making application to the superintendent of 
markets in Boston, procure the right to certain stands where 
his wagon may be drawn up without interference from 
others, and such stock as he has may be retailed direct to 
the consumers. Not only the farmers and regular dealers 
take advantage of this permission, but many cheap dealers 
also avail themselves of the opportunity, and ring in under 
the pretense of being growers of poultry and other produce. 
These men buy the cheapest grades of poultry which come to 



sense of smell. However, from the apparent health and ani- 
mal thrift of the buyers it is evident that no great harm is 
done through the consumption of this ill treated and over 
ripe sort of poultry. 

Another factor which has influenced the poultry market 
iu New England is the entrance of the western beef dealers 
into the business of killing and dressing turkeys and other 
poultry, and shipping direct to their branches in the larger 
eastern towns and cities. Whereas, only a few years ago, 
the small middlemen and dealers were to be found in every 
such place, now the trade is largely given over to these 
branch houses, who combine the poultry sales with their beef 



44 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



business, and througli their ability and inclination to extend 
credit to tte small dealers, have crowded out the men who 
formerly made the handling of poultry a special business. 
Like changes have come in the larger city markets. Time 
was when the poultry dealer in the large markets liandled 
only poultry and game, beef dealers handled beef products, 
while mutton, pork, fish and other food products were 
handled by dealers m each line as a specialty. Of late years 
the lines have not been so closely drawn, and at the holiday 
st-ason it is no un'isual thing to find turkeys for sale in all 
kinds of places, and by dealers in all sorts of goods. It is 
sometimes said that there is only one more step to be taken 
and without doubt within the next few years the Thanks- 
giving and Christmas seasons will And turkeys and a mis- 
cellaneous assortment of poultry for sale in the large dry 
goods and notion .stores and that poultry, shoes, patent med- 
icines and corsets will vie with each other as to which meets 
with readiest sale. At the holiday seasons many old toms are 
shipped 10 market with their plumage intact. They art hung 
by the heels at doors and windows and used as signs by re- 
tail and wholesale places alike. Occasionally, in the more 
reckless sections, they serve to invite the attention of the 
passers by to some raffle or game of chance which is being 
carried on within. This custom used to be more common 
than it is at the present day. 

There has been a choice lot of turkeys grown on Block 
Island, which is some thirty miles oft the coast of Rhode 
Island. So many fish are shipped from this place that the 
term "Block Island turkey" is more generally understood to 
apply to cod fish than to the feathered biped to which it be- 
longs. In most parts of Rhode Island at least a man calling 
for a Block Island turkey would find that a salt cod fish 
would be promptly weighed out and charged to his account. 
This concrete application of the joke has dimmed the gen- 
eral knowledge of the value of the genuine turkey crop of 
the island. 

4 NEW ENGLAND TURKEY FARM. 

Probably more good turkeys are shipped from Westerly 
than from any other point in New England. While the 
numbers which are now sent out from this place do not by 
any means equal the quantities shipped in past years, yet 
they far exceed those from any other single point of Rhode 
Island or Connecticut, and probably of New England as well. 
In this little section of southwestern Rhode Island and ex- 
tending across the line into southeastern Connecticut, which 
is hilly and rocky and looks altogether like a sample of New 
Hampshire dropped into the lap of Rhode Island, the turkeys 
seem to be unusually thrifty and to develop the best flesh 
and flavor to be found anywhere in this country. Why this 
should be so is a puzzle for the wise men of the poultry busi- 
ness to solve. Whether it is the climate, the quantity and 
abundance of the insect life or something pertaining to the 
quality of the soil is unknown to the producer. Perhaps, in- 
stead of speaking in a general way of the customs and meth- 
ods in use in this section it will be better to take an example 
from the custom of one of the best known breeders, allowing 
it to stand as a fair illustration of the way the business is 
, conducted by practically all. Of course different producers 
vary in detail, as do producers of other varieties of poultry, 
but in the main, each locality follows pretty much the same 
neighborhood routine with about the same results. 

For purposes of discovery we visited the plant of Mr. H. 
D. Miner. Mr. Miner is one of the oldest turkey dealers and 
raisers in this turkey country, and is known far and wide tor 
his success in producing, not only market birds, but show 
birds as well. The house and other buildings of this place 
are situated near the center of the 300 acres which go to 
make up this farm. Situated in a hollow surrounded by hills 



CD all sides except the south, and with a live stream fed by 
springs back in the hills and flowing freely at all seasons of 
the year, the conditions and situation are the most ideal for 
all kinds of poultry raising of any plant we have ever seen. 
The Bronze turkeys are kept exclusively with the exception 
of some wild birds, which are imported to breed with the 
native turkeys, thus giving an infusion of new blood and 
adding stamina to the flocks. White Holland turkeys and 
Narragan.setts are also kept in the neighborhood, but 
Bronze, either pure or grade, is thought to be on the whole 
best suited to the conditions and to produce better poultry 
than other breeds. Turkeys have been bred continuously on 
this farm for over fifty years, and very little trouble has 
been had from sickness or disease. An occasional fox comes 
down from the hills and works havoc among the young, but 
otherwise little trouble is experienced, although the birds' 
have free range of the whole 300 acres, and besides some 
hundreds more acres are available as extra play grounds if 
desired by the birds. 

The females generally lay from fifteen to twenty eggs in 
a litter and commonly lay two litters in a season, though 
occasionally a bird goes one better and lays three litters, 
with a less number of eggs in each successive litter. The 
birds arc mated, as a rule, with one male to ten or twelve 
females. Mr. Miner thought that females in excess of these 
numbers were too many, and that where only one male was 
mated with eighteen or twenty females, low vitality was apt 
to crop out in the young from such mating. 

The breeding birds have free range at all seasons of the 
year, and have no house shelter whatever, roosting on poles 
or tree branches, even in the worst blizzards and the severest 
cold nights. No pains are ever taken to shelter them in the 
least from the inclemency of the seasons, and their roosting 
place is the same whether in .Tuly or January, in heat or 
cold. They naturally take no hurt from the storms and cold 
except in rare instances a heavy sleet storm may come up 
and sleet gathering aud freezing on the plumage of the birds 
makes them very tTeavy and awkward, and in case the wind 
is very high at such times, there is a possibility of their be- 
ing blown from their roosting places and suffering injury 
from the fall which they get. When we remember that the 
males weigh from twenty-five to forty-five pounds it is easy 
to see that this weight encumbered by an added weight of 
sleet and ice would come to the ground with one of the dull 
and sickening thuds with descriptions of which story writ- 
ers are wont to grace their pages. It is not strange that such 
falls frequently result iu the death of the bird. 

The breeding birds are fed through the winter consider- 
able quantities of corn. This is a measure necessary from 
the fact that young and old run together until the surplus 
birds are marketed and all have free range and are fed alike. 
After the market birds are culled out and only the breeders 
are left, the rations are changed more to oats and wheat and 
less corn is fed. Too much corn leads to over-fatness in 
the breeding birds, and this tends to unfavorably affect the 
breeding. Roughly speaking, about four quarts of feed 
would be given to twenty birds at both the morning and 
night feeds. Considerable cabbage is fed in the winter time. 
This is all the green food which is used and it is very much 
relished by the birds at seasons of the year when it is impos- 
sible for them to pick up grass in their ranging. 

DISEASES. 

The old birds are seldom sick. Whenever there is any 
trouble in this direction it is generally from colds, or roup, 
or black head. Black head is the common name for the 
complaint which carries off more turkeys than all other 
causes combined. It is most prevalent among young poults. 
Its cause is not well understood. Much attention has been 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



45 



given to investigation and researcli, but the trouble contin- 
ues. Ttie Rhode Island College has devoted considerable 
time to the subject, and has had the help of the United 
States Bureau of Animal Industry. The circular bulletin 
No. 2 was issued on the subject. After extensive examina- 
tions and investigations Dr. Smith found that "the hitherto 
undetermined disease of turkeys was due to a micro-organ- 
ism belonging to the protozoa, which places the malady 
among the infectious diseases, so that the idea that it is 
tuberculosis, or due simply to improper feeding, must be 
given up." This very lucid explanation of the cause of the 
disease would doubtless be of considerable interest to the 
various producers if they only knew what it meant. It cer- 
tainly has upset the whole business of turkey production in 
this part of the country, and until some way of averting the 
trouble is found the business will not flourish as it other- 
wise would. 

scrn/vc the eggs— raising the poults. 

The hens generally begin to lay from the middle of 
March to the first of April, although sometimes one may 
begin lo lay earlier, the severity of the weather and early or 
late coming spring having much to do with this. The wild 
turkeys do not lay as early in the season as the domesticated 
birds. The hens lay in all sorts of out-of-the-way places, 
oftentimes under a leaning rock or in some slight cavern in 
the hillside, and are allowed to sit in the same kinds of 
places. They do better when handled in this way, than 
where too much care is taken to give them the more com- 
plete surroundings which are generally considered necessa- 
ry to successful hatching by ordinary every day fowl. The 
eggs are all set under turkeys, from seventeen to twenty 
making the average size sitting. Where the stock is prop- 
erly mated nearly every egg hatches, and the young poults 
come out strong and sprightly and show a natural genius as 
grasshopper chasers and all-round bug catchers. For the 
first two or three days after hatching they are shut in a coop 
with the mother turkey to give them time to get their rang- 
ing legs on, and to make sure that the mother does not take 
them on too long rambles before they are fully up to the 
task. This, however, will not do with the all wild turkeys, 
as the confinement is very much against their liking and 
they will dash about so wildly that they are very apt to in- 
jure the young birds. 

The poults are fed finely sifted, cracked corn which has 
been soaked for several hours in milk. Great care is taken 
that the mixture shall not be sour when fed, although sour 
milk in itself is not a bad food. When, however, the mixture 
has been kept so long that the corn becomes soured, it is 
unfit for food and is never used. The poults are fed three or 
four times a day all they will eat within a reasonable time. 
After the period of confinement is past, the hen and poults 
roam at pleasure and have no confinement either night or 
day. This constant ranging and roaming gives them fresh 
ground, and every opportunity to gain the strength and 
stamina which is so necessary to carry any poultry success- 
fully along to the best results, either in a market or breed- 
ing sense. Fresh water iu clean vessels is always to be had 
from the time of hatching. The vessels are cleaned at every 
watering time, and fresh water given not less than three 
times daily. After the roving period is reached on Mr. 
Miner's farm they have free access to the running brook and 
to this pure water supply Mr. Miner attributes much of his 
success in raising turkeys as well as other poultry. He 
thinks much of the disease and sickness which seems to fol- 
low the poultry business may be found to originate in stag- 
nant water and unclean drinking fountains or vessels. Mr. 
Miner is in the habit of from time to time putting a tea- 
spoonful of fine table salt in the watering vessel in the pro- 



portion of one spoonful to about eight quarts of water. This 
is a practice which he has followed for years, and which he 
thinks is highly beueficial to the poultry. 

SIZE OF TVRKEYS DIFFERENT SEASONS DEMAND. 

The early hatched birds reach a salable size, and are 
ready for the Thanksgiving market, while the later hatches 
come along successfully and are marketed according to the 
season and ruling prices. There is an increasing demand 
for the broiler turkeys and this is in a measure met by ship- 
ments which come through from the west packed in ice. The 
birds are killed by sticking and bleeding from the mouth. 
A rope is hung from a pole or beam in the picking house, a 
noose is made in the lower end and this is slipped over the 
feet of the turkeys. The cut is made and they are allowed 
to bleed thoroughly before the feathers are pulled. Too 
little bleeding leaves the carcass less clear and inviting in 
appearance, and the keeping qualities are not so good as 
when properly bled out. They are generally picked clean 
except that sometimes upon the request of the buyers the 
flight feathers are left in the wing tips, and these are pre- 
sented to the various customers. The skin does not tear 
easily in picking and the feathers are pulled as quickly as 
possible after bleeding. The carcass is hung up to cool and 
usually is not put into water, nor wiped off with a wet cloth, 
but is allowed to hang perfectly dry. They are drawn while 
warm and the carcass is generally left hanging for about 
twenty-four hours, when ihey are packed with heads off or 
on, according to the market to which they are to be shipped. 
The wild turkeys bred in this section are conceded to have 
the finest flavor and the juiciest, tenderest flesh. Wild males 
crossed on the Bronze females give a very superior quality. 
The birds have large size and a very fine flavor. The wild 
males seldom weigh over twenty pounds, and the hens from 
eight to ten pounds, the Bronze males weight from twenty 
to forty pounds, the hens from fourteen to twenty pounds, 
this of course for old breeding birds, the young birds being 
proportionately lighter. The best market sizes are from 
eight to twelve pounds. Nine out of ten customers, when 
asked what size turkey they want, will answer, "about ten 
pounds." Anyone having ability to turn out ten-pound tur- 
keys at will would have the biggest kind of a mint, which 
would turn them out a fortune in short order. At Thanks- 
giving time the old toms and old hens are, as far as possible, 
worked off and what are not gotten rid of at this season gen- 
erally flnd their finish at Christmas time. It is only at the 
holiday seasons that extra large birds sell at all readily, and 
when marketed at other times the sale has to be forced and 
the prices very much reduced. There is a limited demand for 
young turkeys weighing from fourteen to eighteen pounds, 
but where there is one call for a fifteen pound turkey there 
are very many for such as weigh from ten to twelve pounds, 
and later ia the season, as the spring months approach, 
there is an increasing demand for birds weighing from 
seven to nine pounds. This want is met by storing away in 
the freezers in times of plenty birds of this size. They are 
held in cold storage until the later demand comes, when 
they are withdrawn, and in this way the supply is made to 
approximate the demand. 

Were it not for the cold storage facilities which have 
grown up within recent years, the poultry business in its 
present proportions would be impossible. Before this sys- 
tem came into general use such shipments as met with slight 
delay in selling, or had to be held for any cause beyond a 
fev/ days' time, rapidly lost value because of the inability to 
keep the poultry sv/eet and free from taint. This was espe- 
cially true of the spring months. The proportionate loss 
during March and April oftentimes took up the profits which 



46 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



were made on the sale of goods. It also confined shipping 
from the west to the coldest months of the year. Under the 
present conditions, however, birds may be shipped in refrig- 
erator cars, or paclced in ice, and upon arrival, if the market 
is dull and sales slow, or if the price falls below the ship- 
pers' figures, the entire shipment may be placed in cold stor- 
age and held indefinitely without deterioration in sweetness, 
though after thawing they will not keep so long nor so well 
if they have been kept frozen for any great length of time. 
We know of one lot of chickens which were recently taken 
out of the freezor which have been so stored for three years. 
They were perfectly sweet when taken out and the appear- 
ance was good. They lacked keeping qualities, and had to 
be very quickly disposed of after thawing. As is well known, 
poultry in these freezers is kept solidly frozen, and the car- 
casses are covered with white frost. If, after removal, they 
are to be quickly thawed, the common custom is to throw 
tUera into a tub, barrel or tank of cold water, where they are 
allowed to stay until the water has taken the frost com- 
pletely out of the carcass. It is not uncommon to find little 
lumps of ice floating in the water which have been formed by 
the frost which is drawn from the poultry. Most consumers 
of the well-to-do classes profess antipathy to all frozen poul- 
try. The facts are that, when the poultry is fresh killed and 
in perfect condition, cold storage does not seem to make 
much difference iu its flavor or appearance. Where it has 
been kept until in danger of spoiling, or is imperfectly 
dressed, it does not appeal to the fastidious taste after hav- 
ing been frozen for an indefinite period and then thawed. 
The fiesh lacks juiciness and flavor, and to many it is alto- 
gether unpalatable as food. Rhode Island turkeys seldom or 
never reach the freezer, but are generally sold within a few 
hours of their arrival in the market. With western turkeys 
it is very different. Many whole shipments go into the 
freezers rather than to sell at market quotations and a great 
many are bought on the low market and held by the various 
dealers to be used through the summer months. Roast tur- 
key is as common in July and August at many of the sum- 
mer resorts as any other kind of poultry, and this is only 
possible because of the modern storage facilities. 

Several experiments have been made in shipping western 
live turkeys to New England, where they have been kept and 
fed and, wi.en in suitable condition, killed and marketed as 
Rhode Island turkeys. This, however, has rarely proved to 
be a paying venture. The birds come through in very thin 
and poor condition and whether from the change of climate 
or because of unfamiliar surroundings, they are slow to take 
on flesh, and a great many are lost from one complaint or 



another. Those which 'do reach the killing period by the 
ordinary stages do not turn out as good poultry, nor com- 
pare at all favorably with the native stock of this section. 
The turkey is naturally timid in disposition and it is doubt- 
ful if they ever can be handled and changed about from one 
place to another iu large numbers without deterioration in 
market qualities. 

The future success of turkey production In New Eng- 
land depends upon (he ability to cope successfully with black 
head and kindred complaints, which now weigh so heavily 
on the industry, and perhaps in the majority of cases dis- 
hearten the growers, and eventually cause them to give up 
the attempt. If, therefore, through experiment, study and 
help of tne colleges and aifterent stations, this trouble may 
be overcome, it will result iu a decided boom in New Eng- 
land turkey culture, and will add decidedly to the money 
making possibilities of the more remote and far away farms. 
Of course, in the more thickly settled farming regions the 
extensive production of turkeys will probably never prevail. 
The bird is a natural rover and does best when allowed to 
ramble and roam without let or hindrance. Where the farms 
are near together and consist largely of garden plots and 
cultivated grounds, a roving band of turkeys may, and will, 
make disastrous work over a considerable tract. To avoid 
too much trespassing and consequent ill feeling, some keep- 
ers, in the old days, used to resort to a contrivance which 
was called a yoke, and which consisted of a thin board 
through which holes were made and which fastened by strips 
of cloth across the turkey's back, the strings passing under 
the wings, fastening the board to the back, thus preventing 
the birds flying, and they could be kept in any desired en- 
closure. The custom seems to have gone out of use. It is 
doubtful if any mechanical arrangement which makes un- 
natural conditions for the birds will ever prove altogether 
successful. Probably the only way to profitably produce 
large numbers would be free range, great attention to breed- 
ing stock, extreme care of mating, and the introduction of 
new, strong blood and the numerous little details which 
come to the knowledge of all poultry breeders. It is doubtful, 
in fact, if production in large numbers is altogether practi- 
cable. The greatest success and the largest proportions of 
profit are made with small flocks of from ten to twenty 
breeding birds. These require very little attention, no extra 
facilities, and the product counts largely as profit, and it 
these flocks could be scattered broadcast over New England 
farms it would result in the addition of many thousands of 
dollars in extra revenue with very little increase in cost. 

GEORGE H. POLLARD. 



-.-oo-^. 



0-=^" 



SUCCESS WITH TURKEYS. 



Time and Method of Making a Start— Housing and Feeding Breeders— Nests and Food of Sitting Turkeys— Care of 
Poults — Lice — Fattening Stock for Market— Preparing for the Show Room Diseases of Turkeys. 



By Mrs. Bettie Clover Mackey. 




IRTJLY theie is more interest talieii to-day in poul- 
try culture than ever before in the history of the 
American people. There seems to be an awaken- 
ing to the fact, long proclaimed by a few, that 
there is money la poultry. The question is sel- 
dom asked now, "Does poultry pay?"' The form has changed 
and the question now is, "How can I manage my poultry to 
get ;he best returns?" 

It seem? to me that the poultry business, and especially 
turkey culture, is one belt which reaches around the globe. 
America is sending fine turkeys to foreign countries, and 
the west is furnishing the east with her best turkeys. I have 
shipped turkeys and eggs from ocean to ocean, from Canada 
to Mexico. The turkey is one American bird that will thrive 
in any land, will grow on any soil, or in any climate, and is 
considered a luxury by all, frorn the king on his throne to 
the humblest laborer in his hut. 

There are more specialty fanciers than ever before, and 
in no department of poultry culture is there more interest 
taken than in the turkey department. Of the many varie- 
ties, the Bronze is the leading one now bred. It is hardy, 
easy to breed to standard, has fine style and is a beauty in 
color. It is of quick growth and will attain immense weight 
if fed for flesh. The objection is urged that the Bronze is 
niorc roving in disposition than other breeds. This disposi- 
tion to roam is not confined to the Bronze alone, and the 
roaming turkey is more healthy than the one which hangs 
around the back door. Whether any other one will ever 
supercede the Bronze in popularity remains to be seen. Of 
one thing I feel assured, and that is that no breed now in 
existence will ever rival them. What may be produced by 
a cross we do not know. 

While there is general admiration for the turkey, and 
a desire to raise them, there seems to be, among those who 
have never handled them, an impression that turkeys are 
very hard to raise, very expensive to keep, and difficult to 
manage as to disposition, that is, that they are such a roving 
and wild nature it is almost impossible to keep them at 
home or tame them. This last impression has grown out of 
the first. For years it was the custom, when turkeys hatched 
on the farm, to take them as far from the house as possible 
and put them in a place of security from vermin, and the 
only person who went near them were those taking them 
food. This was said to be the only way in which they could 
bs raised, lin- if they were kept near the house they would be 
sure to become unhealthy and die. I well remember when 
I thought this true. Of course, turkeys thus raised became 
timid and ran from every thing or person they saw. They 
were generally fed until six or eight weeks old and then 
allowed to make their own living. Naturally of a roving 
nature, they did not seek quarters near the house, and I have 
seen them fly to the highest trees whenever they wore ap- 
proached. They would tear down shocks of corn, for how 



else were tlioy to get their livins? No one thought of feed- 
ing them. 

WILD TURKEYS IIS VIRCIMA. 

I do not agree with persons who think turkeys are hard 
to raise and keep healthy. But they cannot be raised in a 
haphazard manner. Follow nature as nearly as possible and 
the poult? will do better. 

Wild turkeys abound in warm, woodland countr-.ts. In 
the pinelands of Virginia (my n.itive state) wild turkeys 
grow in large flocks. This is a mountainous region, rocky, 
abounding in springs of crystal water. The pine trees are in 
all forests, and it is said that there is more or less of the 
properties of turpentine in the water. Even in rainy seasons 
the rocky hills are not very wet and there are such large, 
sheltering trees the h'en turkey can protect her young in the 
hardest stoi'ms. The seasons are mild and the pine trees are 
said to be a preventive of vermin. As turpentine is sure 
death to lice. I think it reasonable that the pine will prevent 
them. There are abundant seeds and wild food for the fowls, 
with plenty of insects and grit. 

Following this lesson in nature I where the wild turkey 
thrives and large droves of tame ones are raised) I draw the 
conclusion that a hilly, rocky slope is a good locality; that 
turkeys must be kept dry, have plenty of pure water and 
fresh air, and at the same time not be allowed to become 
chilled. Either they must have a place where there is plenty 
of giit or it must be supplied to them. I do not favor t,iving 
poults or chicks hot feed. It is not the natural way and we 
cannot improve on nature. I have succeeded in raising 
strong, vigorous, gentle turkeys. That it is their nature to 
roam cannot be denied, but this may be greatly overcome by 
the treatment they receive. 

BEGINNING WITH EGGS. 

Frequently I am asked which is cheaper to begin with, 
eggs or stock. This question can be truthfully answered — 
Eggs and stock. Circumstances and surroundings largely 
decide which is cheaper. If you have the money buy a trio 
of turkeys; if not enough for a trio, then a pair; but if you 
have not money enough to buy the turkeys, buy a sitting 
of eggs. I have made some very profitable investments in 
eggs. 

I have been asked if turkey eggs will hatch after being 
shipped? I reply that where eggs are rightly packed and 
fairly handled there is nothing in the shipping to prevent a 
hatch. But there is a great deal in the hen under which they 
are set. From exactly the same lot of eggs set at the same 
time one hen will hatch several hours before the other and 
will hatch every egg, while the other hatch will be very 
poor. If you break the eggs decide whether it is the fault of 
the egg— an infertile egg will not rot, but will be as clear 
at the end of the hatch as when set. Turkey eggs are usual- 
ly better fertilized than chicken eggs. 

Follow these directions when sitting shipped eggs: Al- 



48 



TLU^KEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



low them to rest twenty-four liours after receiving them; 
longer will not hurt if kept in a cool, dry place; put them 
under a quiet heu in a quiet place and disturb her as little as 
possible. If the weather is dry sprinkle the eggs with warm 
(not hot) water a few days before they are due to hatch; be 
sure they are clean. If an egg should be broken the others 
must be washed with a clean cloth in clear rain water; be 
sure there is no grease about it, as grease will prevent the 
eggs from hatching. 

BECiyNING WITH STOCK. 

I should advise the beginner not to buy more than a 
trio. The mistake of almost all beginners is that they want 
to start with too many. 

When writing for breeding stock state just what line of 
business you are in. Do you wish to sell your stock on the 
market or as breeders"? Do you wish to raise exhibition 
birds or simply good pure birds? Much of the unpleasant- 
ness between customers and advertisers would be obviated 
if each inquirer would make his wants clear. 




Wrs. Mackey and Her Turkeys at tlome 

1 think from the 25th of November to the first of Febru- 
ary the best time to buy breeding stock. The sooner it is 
purchased after the first of December, the better, for at that 
time fanciers have plenty of good birds, while later you may 
have to take what you can get. Turkeys always pay, and 
while it may seem expensive to pay for a torn to change 
blood, it will pay in the vigor of the young turkeys next year. 

Do not hunt for the cheapest, but try for the best. This 
is not always the heaviest in weight, but the best bodied and 
the best in quality. Look out for healthy, vigorous stock. 
Do not wait until the weather is too cold to have the birds 
shipped without getting the roup. You may think this 
strange advice when I teli you my turkeys roost in trees all 
winter, but I have noticed that if you take a turkey that has 
been used to the cold and put it into a warm place and then 
expose it to the cold it is liable to take cold. This is what 
is done when turkeys are shipped in bitter cold weather. 
They are put into warm cars and exposed to the cold after 
being taken out and changed into a new home. Buy your 
breeding stock early and turn it out and let it get acclimated 
and used to the new home by breeding season. 

The most important part of turkey culture is to start 
with strong breeding stock. I will not breed from a fowl 



of any kind that is delicate. If I have weakly chicks or 
poults hatched I am always glad when they die. Yet it is 
true that a chicken or turkey may take cold and have a sore 
eye or head for a short time and not be materially injured 
as a breeder. But when the disease becomes very bad or 
chronic, better kill the bird, for the progeny from a bird 
with a chronic disease will never be of any account. 

INBREEDING AND LINE BREEDING. 

In selecting or buying breeding stock, do not buy inbred 
turkeys. If you do you will lose by it. Possibly you may 
get better markings, but can you afford to sacrifice the vigor 
of your flock for these? 

I have been asked if I think it will do to breed from the 
same tom two years. The question, I presume, has reference 
to using a tom with his pullets. There may be circum- 
stances where this could be done to advantage. In order to 
secure certain points it might be done, yet I think not with- 
out loss in the number of turkeys raised. Demand, when 
ordering a trio of turkeys, that the breeder send male and 
female not related. 

I advocate line breeding and practice it. But this may 
be done very easily without close inbreeding. I do it by mat- 
ing on different farms every year. By looking up every sale 
and the yard from v/hich the stock was taken, I avoid selling 
related stock. If a pen or trio is ordered, the tom is taken 
from one yard and the hens from another. These are 
booked, and if the same customer orders again he gets new 
blood. To introduce new blood, I buy eggs and use the toms 
in one yard, the pullets in another, thus keeping my own 
line, but introducing new blood. If necessary, I import a 
tom at the breeding season. 

One who has common turkeys would like to know 
whether it would be best to grade them up or start with 
thoroughbreds. I think this is simply a matter of what you 
wish to do with thern. If only for market, the cross with a 
full Bronze tom will increase the size and beauty as well as 
the vigor of your flock. But why not get the best and sell 
your toms as breeders to your neighbors? If you have the 
full blood and are the first in your neighborhood to get 
them, you can more than replace the cost in the excess of 
the price over market turkeys. 

Another asks, "How can I get larger turkeys? I have 
the Bronze, but they do not get as large as some I see ad- 
vertised." 

Very often those advertised are never seen except in the 
advertisement. But it is a fact that the size of turkeys may 
be increased by breeding from not only good individual 
birds, but from birds of good stock. The greatest reason for 
production of smaller turkeys is in the breeding. To save 
the price of a tom, a breeder decides to use one from his own 
flock, year after year. I do not know that using the same 
tom two years would cause the turkeys to degenerate in size, 
but the habit of inbreeding is injurious. 

Again and again comes the question, "Do you prefer an 
old tom or a young tom?" I can truly say, yes and no. It 
all depends on the conditions. I let the purchasers have 
their choice, but I always give to customers preferring young 
toms those which were bred from either yearling toms or 
yearling hens, and often both. Where young toms are bred 
with yearling hens or pullets of large bone and large ances- 
tors, I see no difference in the size of the young. Still in 
my own breeding yards I use the old toms, for people want 
eggs from the largest stock to be found. 

VIGOR, SIZE AND FANCY POINTS. 

Several have written asking which I think is the most 
important point to consider in breeding stock. My reply is, 
first vigor, then size, and then fancy points. The reason 1 
consider strong, vigorous birds the first point to be looked 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



49 



after is patent. If the parent stock is not strong, the young 
will not be so. Mind, I do not say weight, but size. Turkeys 
that are not large Iramed birds may weigh very heavy, espe- 
cially young stock, but after they are fully matured the little 
boned birds will not weigh so well. 

Why do I say I consider size first'/ Simply because the 
standard requires weight and cuts harder for lack of weight 
than tor anything else, and if we have to be governed by the 
standard wo must come to consider size in breeding stock. 
If you were to ask my personal preference, I might give a 
different reply. The fancier must consider size in order to 
win in the show room, and then the turkeys are "cut all to 
pieces" on weight which they lose in shipping. Again, the 
fancier must consider size because ten customers require 
largo turkeys where one requires fancy points. But the fan- 
cier must combine the size and fancy points and this takes 
study in mating. It is not the rule that the largest turkeys 
in the flock score the highest, be they ever so well bred. 

1 will never believe that the demand for immense 
weights required by the standard and turkey raisers is wise. 
I have lost the heaviest turkeys I ever owned simply from 
being over fat. and I do not feed very much for flesh, either. 
U is not unusual for me to lose sales because I cannot quote 
as heavy weights as are demanded, yet I have as large tur- 
keys as any fancier. I know over-fat stock is not good for 
breeding purposes, and so does every one who has given the 
subject any careful attention, yet a turkey must weigh so 
many pounds regardless of consequences. If the would-be 
purchaser would be satisfied with standard weights then 
there would be some reason in the demands, but I have often 
received inquiries in November for young toms weighing 
from thirty pounds up to sixty, "sixty preferred." Now 
everybody with common sense knows, or should be taught, 
that in this climate it is almost impossible to make a young 
torn weigh thirty pounds in November or even December, 
and that to do so is an injury to breeding qualities. Prom 
January to March young toms may weigh from twenty-eight 
to thirty-two pounds without any special effort at fattening 
them. I prefer a pullet from sixteen to eighteen pounds 
rather than one heavier, and I know that I voice the senti- 
ments of some of the best fanciers in the United States. The 
over large hen does not lay so many eggs, nor are those she 
does lay so fertile. 

It will not be many years before this demand for exces- 
sive weights will be greatly modified. Market poultrymen 
say our Bronze turkeys are too large for their trade, and the 
market poultrymen must control the turkey trade. If we 
continue to increase the size of the Bronze, some other breed 
will take its place, and when this happens the Bronze turkey 
fancier who has tried to excel all others by breeding the 
heaviest weights will see this error. 

I hope I will not be considered as advocating small tur- 
keys, for I am not, and I could call hundreds to testify that I 
stand for large boned turkeys. The weights of mine as 
adults have not been excelled in the west, b\it what I do 
plead against is the demand for the pound of flesh, which is 
far easier to put on the short legged, small boned turkey, 
than on the tall, majestic fellow, that will, as a yearling, 
weigh from thirty-five to forty pounds. The extremely 
heavy weights are fit only for the show room and the fan- 
cier's yard, while the medium sized bird is the better turkey 
for all purposes. I do not like to breed from excessively 
large turkeys, neither does any other fancier, and yet the 
fancier has created the demand for these birds by advertis- 
ing excessive weights to catch trade, and the farmer has 
caught the spirit, and without really knowing what is best, 
demands what he sees advertised. 

If I were a farmer raising market poultry I would want 



turkey pullets weighing from fifteen to seventeen pounds, 
good large-boned birds, not fat, and young toms weighing 
from twenty-four to twenty-eight pounds, or yearlings from 
thirty to thirty-five. I would hatch my turkeys early and in 
the fall they would be as good market turkeys as anybody 
would want. I would keep the pure Bronze turkeys, for 
nothing has ever equalled them. I would not do as some 
have done — inbreed until I decreased both vigor and size of 
my birds, nor would I save the late small, runty turkeys to 
breed from. I would save nice pullets and yearling hens 
and buy a torn from some fancier every year; or if I were 
short of money I might keep one two years, though I prefer 
changing stock every year. One tom is sufficient for twelve 
hens, and more may be used with perfect safety. I would 
keep more hens than most farmers' wives do, and instead 
of breaking them up from sitting, I would let them sit on 
their own eggs, or if preferred, I would set the eggs 
part under the domestic hen, giving all the young to 
the turkey hen, and if I did not care to keep over so many 
hens I would sell the surplus after they had laid the early 
eggs. I raise late turkeys, but if I were not a poultry fan- 
cier, and were raising market poultry, I should not raise 
late turkeys; early ones are much more profitable, they are 
much hardier during the summer, and are not so apt to be 
affected with the disease which takes off hundreds of young 
turkeys in the fall. 

The farmer should learn that he needs good, strong 
large-boned, vigorous breeding stock, such as will take on 
flesh when he wishes to market them. Nobody wants a poor 
turkey to eat and if the ten-pound one is fat and brings more 
by the pound than the twenty pound one it still pays to have 
the twenty-pound one, but when the marketman says he can 
scarcely use the forty-pound ones at any price because only 
hotels and large restaurants want them, the farmer has no 
need for forty-pound young turkeys, as some demand. 

BREEDING FANCY TVRKEYS. 

As to shape of tom and hens to breed from — I selecl 
large head and feet, long body, long neck, held well up, and 
a broad back and breast, with long shanks. A short turkey 
will fatten earlier and look larger when not fully matured 
than the rangy one, but the latter will make the weight at 
maturity much heavier, and will produce larger turkeys. I 
select hens the same way, yet if they are specially well 
marked and good in weight I would not discard them if not 
quite as tall as I like them to be when pullets. I am some- 
times disappointed in pullets, but cannot remember that I 
ever have been in a tom — pullets sometimes are no larger 
at two than at one year old. They often stop growing at 
one year, while a tom never does. Other pullets grow until 
they are two and three years old. 

My method of mating is simply this: Select the very 
best tom possible, and in females do not discard a very fine 
marked one because it is not quite as large as desired. By 
this I do not mean that I breed from small boned females. 
There are some larger than others in all flocks of the same 
age, and I should not advise the use in the breeding pen of an 
undersized female, or a runt. Nor should I discard from my 
breeding yard an extra large female because she is not quite 
up In, fancy points for the reason that the tom will overcome 
to some extent the defects. The well marked female will 
produce large stock from the mating with a large tom, and 
the one not so well marked will produce evenly marked 
young from the mating with a well marked tom. Yet these 
must be exceptional cases, for it will not do for a fancier to 
have many females in his breeding yard that are not well 
marked and not very large. By undersized, we mean pullets, 
for if at two years old a hen is not of average size I should 
discard her unless there were some special point I wanted to 



50 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



impress on my flock. I think young turkeys get size from 
the maternal side, even more than from the paternal. Never 
should a fancier use a late, small-boned torn, or a poorly 
marked one. As a rule toms get very thin in summer if 
mated with hens, and they do not eat a great deal until cold 
weather. I have known a torn to weigh twenty-six pounds 
in November and thirty-five by January. Turkeys will gain 
two pounds a week In cold weather, unless there is snow on 
the ground, then they will stay on the roost and will not eat. 

I once had a red legged turkey pullet. She was not large 
when young, but her legs were almost too deeply colored to 
be called pink. I bred from her as long as she lived, or, I 
should say, until she was stolen. I could tell the turkeys 
from her eggs. They were a good size and invariably had 
pink legs when young, though not as deeply colored as were 
hers. From this hen I got that line of breeding which gives 
in some of my yards pink legs in young stock. I can tell it 
wherever I find it. But this is the only female I ever kept 
that was undersize after she was a pullet. The rule is that 
the shanks are dark when young. Some of the best hens in 
size have dark shanks always, while others get very bright 
pink — I prefer the pink legs, other things being equal. But 
I am candid when I say that I make size and not weight the 
first consideration in breeding stock. 

Never breed from a turkey with a natural deformity. I 
once bought a sitting of eggs from one of the foremost fan- 
ciers I know. The only pullet raised had a crooked toe, but 
she was so fine I felt I could breed from her. Every year 
there would be a lot of turkeys with crooked toes, and these 
were the very best otherwise. It took several years to get 
entirely rid of crooked toes. 

While there are fewer culls among turkeys than there 
are among chickens, it is also true that under the present 
standard some of the very best breeding birds are not first- 
class exhibition turkeys. For instance, all turkey raisers 
know that there is a tendency to brown edging on tail cov- 
erts in some specimens, and it is a notable fact that these 
specimens are usually very strong in wing barring and that 
they are decidedly larger boned than those which possess the 
standard gray and white edging. Now such a bird cannot 
be sold for exhibition, but if one Is raising turkeys for mar- 
ket and selling toms to other market breeders, what better 
breeder would he want than this same brown tailed turkey, 
for as the market poultryman pays for pounds, it is the torn 
with size that one raising for market must get. Again, one 
may be poor in wing for exhibition and fine as a breeder. 
Yet I am sure that at least ninety per cent of the best bred 
Bronze turkeys can be put on exhibition when fully up in 
weight, and whether they win a prize or not they do credit 
to the owner. The main thing in breeding is to select 
healthy, vigorous breeding stock of good size and shape, 
with the very best markings possible. Don't expect perfec- 
tion, but try to attain as near it as possible. Patience, per- 
severance and knowledge will bring success. 

CARE OF BREEDING STOCK-EGGS. 

When once you have your stock, be sure that you get 
your turkey eggs. To do this I keep my turkeys penned. I 
would prefer letting turkeys run at large if I could do so 
with much convenience to myself. But to follow from twen- 
ty-five to thirty turkeys to their nests is too great an under- 
taking for me, and I keep them in a large pen until after 
they have laid. Each afternoon about 4 o'clock I turn them 
out in an orchard of blue grass. After a few days they will 
come to the gate and call to get out. If I forget, they do not; 
but they always go back to the pen to roost. I find grass 
very essential both to the fertility of the eggs and to increase 
the number, and also to keep the turkeys healthy. If I were 
so situated that I could not let them out to eat grass, I would 



feed wheat bran with flowers of sulphur in it every other day 
in small quantities. There must be sulphur to insure fertil- 
ity, but the grass supplies it. Plenty of lime, gravel and 
grass, with wheat twice a day, is all turkeys need. If too 
closely confined turkeys will not thrive and I believe that 
the freer the range the more eggs the turkey will lay, but 
when they lay where you cannot find the nest and you lose 
both hen and eggs, as I have often done, you will prefer to 
get the eggs they do lay in the pen. 

My turkey house is sixteen feet long, eight feet wide and 
has two partitions, making three rooms in it. It is made of 
barn boarding sixteen inches wide. Two of these boards are 
put together at the bottom, but as they go up cracks are left 
so that the air can pass through; however, they are too close 
for animals to get through. It is one-half foot high in front 
and three feet in the back and is set out in the orchard 
where the poults will have a seven acre range of their own. 
Thi.? turkey shed has proved a success, and my young tur- 
keys have seldom failed to come up at night. I think the 
large, airy roosting place provided has had something to do 
with their coming up, for in small roosting places I was al- 
ways compelled to drive them in, while all I do now is to 
turn them into the pen and they go to roost themselves. 

The fence is the best I have ever used. It is made of 
straight farm fence wire, with stays and locks. The wires 
are only three inches apart at bottom, and the distance apart 
is increased as they get higher. 

I do not like to cut the wings of large turkej-s for they 
often get up in trees and when they fly down they hurt 
themselves. My show birds are often spoiled by cutting the 
wings. They do not always grow out in time for the show. 
I do not cut the wings of the toms because they will stay 
with the hens. 

The natural instinct of the turkey is to roost high and 
in ordinary weather I think it is best for them to be out of 
doors. My experience is that the first turkey to get droopy 
is one roosting low in the same place night after night, un- 
less the droppings are either removed frequently or the im- 
purities counteracted by frequent applications of either air 
slaked or quick lime. 

I am of:en asked if one living on a small place can be 
successful with turkeys. If by small place is meant a town 
lot, certainly not. If an eight, ten or twenty acre place is 
meant, you may be successful with a limited number; and if 
you trespass on your neighbors and they allow it, you may 
be successful with a larger number. 

It is no longer a question whether turkeys can be kept 
on small space successfully, for so many overworked women 
are penning the birds and so getting eggs with much less 
labor, proving that with proper care the stock will be just as 
vigorous. We do not claim they lay quite as many eggs, 
but we get more of them. 

My experience has been equally divided between a farm 
and a small place for raising turkeys. I have lived seven 
years where my turkeys had unlimited range and seven 
years on an eight-acre place. I give the farm the preference 
after the turkeys are grown. Until they are six or seven 
weeks old they do as well on a small place, but from that 
time until they are grown the larger the range the better for 
the growth of the young turkeys, and yet the finest turkeys 
I have ever raised were raised on the small place; but this 
is not an argument in favor of it, for they could have been 
raised with much less labor and expense on a larger one. 

HOW MANY HENS TO A TOM? 

I make twelve hens the number for one tom, as a rule, 
but once I kept twenty hens with a tom that was two years 
old in May or June, and never, had eggs hatch better. The 
question of how to manage when more than one tom is de- 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



51 



sired in the same yard, is a troublesome one. The most sat- 
isfactory way in which I have managed it is to let only one 
tore in the yard at a time. Let one stay in the yard several 
days, keeping the other where he cannot be seen or see the 
turkeys in the yard. Then change, putting the one in the 
yard in confinement and letting the other out. Some advo- 
cate changing toms every day where changing is practiced 
at all, but I prefer letting each torn stay in the yard several 
days at a time. Where more than twenty hens are kept, two 
toms should be used as above directed if all the hens are kept 
in the same pen. After the hens begin laying one torn may 
be disposed of if so desired. After the first clutch of eggs is 
laid I find that all the hens never lay at the same time dur- 
ing the season. Some are sitting, some stop laying and 
begin again, and some carry turkeys, so that one tom is suf- 
ficient after the first fertilization. But it is always safe to 
have the second one at command if one should die. 

How long can a tom be used, or when is he too old for 
service? I do not know. I use them two years and have 
sold yearlings that were kept three years. I never go to 
extremes in mating, that is, do not keep too old or too 
young breeding stock. 

FEEDING THE BREEDING STOCK. 

The breeding stock should never be excessively fat. All 
stock raisers will agree with this assertion. There is noth- 
ing more productive of soft shelled and infertile eggs than 
over-fat hens and toms. 

What to feed for the production of eggs has been a ques- 
tion. I confess that I have lost faith in hot mashes for 
either chickens or turkeys, and I never feed hot food to 
either young or old. Neither do I give hot drinking water. 
I was first forced to adopt the cold feed from sickness. I 
could not get anyone to prepare a mash that did not make it 
sloppy and I soon learned whole grain was far more health- 
ful than sloppy food. If turkeys have free range during lay- 
ing season (hey eat very little that you feed them. Keep 
grit and lime on hand in abundance and sow wheat for them. 
If it is laid in a pile they often leave it, but if scattered 
broadcast they will pick all day. Turkeys in their normal 
condition do not sit around during laying season; they are 
active and want to roam and pick as they go. I often scatter 
the food after they go to roost, as they are early risers and 
begin picking before I have time to give them their break- 
fast. One thing you may depend upon and that is, to have tur- 
keys lay well, and lay fertile eggs, they must have an egg 
producing diet in some way. If they run at large they will 
get this without any trouble to the owner, but if they are 
confined it must be given them'. One year I fed soaked oats 
with excellent results, but I would not give oats without 
soaking them. I mix shipstuff with them so they are not so 
wet. Wet food sours in the crop. 

AVhen should turkeys begin to lay? The rule in my 
yards is, about the middle to the last of March. I have once 
had turkeys lay the last of February. My mother told me 
the "old-fashioned turkeys" — by that she meant the com- 
mon ones — laid earlier than the Bronze. I think the climate 
may influence the habit of earlier or later laying. In a 
southern climate they lay earlier than in the northern. 

If you want many eggs, you must breed from yearling 
hens and pullets. Old hens do not lay as many eggs, and 
extra large ones do not lay as many eggs as smaller ones. A 
tall turkey will lay more eggs than a short one. Why? I 
do not know. I think the last eggs laid by the hen before 
sitting sometimes produce poults with less vitality than the 
others. 

Will the eggs from yearling turkey hens hatch as well 
as those from pullets? I think they will, the greatest dan- 
ger of infertility lying in getting them over-fat. They must 



be kept vigorous and healthy, but do not overfeed in order 
to get weight. 

I am often asked how many eggs a turkey hen will lay. 
One of mine last year laid eighty, which is the largest num- 
ber I ever could vouch for. Of course she was not allowed 
to sit. 

One asks, "Do you think July too late to hatch turkeys?" 

We have two toms which weighed in March twenty-eight 
pounds without having been fattened; they were hatched 
July 3. 

July and August hatched turkeys of large vigorous stock 
make good breeding birds the first year, and excellent ones 
the second year, but unless scarce of breeding stock we 
usually farm out the late hatches the first year, and put 
them in our breeding yards the second. From these late 
hatches we give our turkey dinners during the winter. 

I dispensed with the barrels this year, having only one. 
I put straw in the hollows and covered them over with 
brush, allowing the turkeys to think they were stealing their 
nests. From twenty-six hens I got seventeen eggs per day, 
showing that confining the hens as I do does not materially 
lessen the egg yield. When the eggs are removed as they 
are laid, and I think it should be done every day, either nest 
egg gourds, china nest eggs or real eggs should be put in the 
nest. Few turkeys will continue to lay in a nest after all 
the eggs are removed from it. I usually put three or four 
infertile eggs in the nest as soon as I find a a turkey has laid 
in It. This often saves much trouble, and yet with all my 
care every year I lose both hens and eggs, for either a rain 
washes out a hole, a wind blows down the fence or they fly 
our. after their wings grow out and steal nests. 

CARE OF SITTING HENS— EGGS— NESTS. 

How many eggs will a turkey hen lay before she sits? 
Some lay more than others, but I never had a hen that laid 
more than fifteen or sixteen eggs before she wanted to sit 
and I have many more that lay only twelve than I have that 
lay fifteen. A turkey hen may easily be broken from sitting 
if she is taken in time, and by this means I often get twenty 
to thirty eggs before I allow a hen to sit. A hen will lay in 
ten days after she is stopped from sitting and sometimes in 
shorter time. 

If you do not wish to make the nest as suggested above, 
then use not a flour nor lime barrel, but a salt barrel. I 
turn the barrel down on the side, putting it under a tree or 
in a shady place. The turkey will scratch the nest up tor tlie 
first few days, but the barrel is a temptation she cannot 
resist and she will lay in it. I always put down several bar- 
rels, though I find the turkeys all like to lay in the same one. 

If the hen is thoroughly dusted with a good insect pow- 
der wheu set, and the top outside of the barrel lightly 
painted with a good lice killer, she will be free from lice 
when the hatch comes off. Be sure in using this that 
you do not put it where it will touch the eggs or feathers of 
sitting hens. If you do you will in all probability fail to get 
a good hatch. 

I set from seventeen to nineteen— never more. If the 
hen is large and the nest well made, nineteen eggs may be 
put under her safely. 

Usually I have a turkey and domestic hen hatch the 
same time and give all the turkeys to the turkey hen. I 
have not been as successful with domestic as with turkey 
hens until this season. I know two other breeders who 
raise turkeys altogether with domestic hens, and they are 
very successful indeed. As a rule, however, the turkey hen 
is the better njother, especially after the poults are seven 
weeks old, for other hens wean them too early. I think 
a very good plan is to let both chicken and turkey hens 
have young turkeys the same age, and when the chicken, 



52 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



hens Vean those under their chargp the turkeys will let 
them follow them and care for them all. 

Do not set your turkeys where there will be anything 
to disturb them. When they hatch to lie careful to handle 
them very gently. If I iind I have one cross turkey about 
to hatch, and I have a gentle, kind one not due to hatch, 
I exchange the eggs and let the gentle turkey hatch the 
brood. I find to prolong the period of incubation tones the 
refractory disposition and often a turkey that will be fussy 
at the end of four weeks, w^ill be gentle at the expiration 
of five. 

Few people, comparatively speaking, know how to set 
a turkey or domestic hen, or how to catch either a turkey or 
chicken. When you find your turkey 'broody, let her alone 
until night. Have your nest prepared in some quiet place 
where she will be undisturbed by other fowls. Make the 
nest with care. I like the grass nest better than anything 
else, but as I do not have a bountiful supply of this I use 
wheat straw. I do not like hay nests at all. Make them 
very much the shape, but not so deep, as a wash bowl. 
If too deep the eggs will roll over each other and either 
be broken or they will not be kept of an even temperature 
during incubation. Make a full, thick nest, for four weeks' 
sitting will mash the straw down very much. Put two 
or three hen eggs, as they are not so valuable as turkey 
eggs, in the nest. At night go to the hen very quietly and 
put both hands under her, taking her firmly by the leg. 
close to the body and lift her straight up. Don't drag her 
out of the nest. Put her head under your arm gently, talk- 
ing to her all the time. Place her on the new nest very gen- 
tly and set a blind firmly in front of it. The next morning 
you may peep in. It will be an exceptional case if she is 
not sitting as well as she did on her old nest. I look at 
her again about roosting time. If I find her restless I let 
her off. If she is kept on the nest in this restless, nervous 
state, she will break the eggs and likely will not sit at all. 
She will probably try to get to her former nest, but as dark 
approaches she will go to the new one; or if she does not 
allow her to go to the old one and remove her as before. 
I have often had to do this several times with one hen. 
As a rule, however, the second time is enough. You 
may say that it is a great deal of trouble. I do not 
call it trouble. It is work, and I learned very early 
in life that to be successful in anything required patience 
and work. 

After the hen has fully decided to accept the nest given 
her then put the turkey eggs under her. So many people 
waste by haste. What difference will two, three or four days 
make \r\ the age of the poults? But what a calamity to have 
a sitting of turkey eggs spoiled by a restless hen. 

I usually give my turkeys the opportunity of getting oit 
the nest every day. I find this much more satisfactory than 
keeping them so long without allowing them the chance 
to get off. Often they do not come off for several days, 
and I had one hen that never came off in four weeks except 
as I took her off the nest. I then had to put the blind up 
in front of the nest and force her to stay off long enough 
to eat. I thought that I certainly would have a good hatch 
from this hen. but I had only ten poults from seventeen 
fertile eggs. She had smothered the turkeys by sitting so 
close. Turkey eggs hatch better than chicken eggs, but 
they require more moisture. 

If the weather is wet I do not moisten the eggs, but if 
dry I sprinkle them the last week. When the eggs have 
been setting until within three or four days of the time 
to hatch, put them in clean, warm water — 100 degrees is 
about right, or if it goes to 104 it will not hurt. All the 
eggs which have live poults in them will move very per- 



ceptibly. Those which sink to the bottom have dead poults, 
and those which float without any jerky motion are spoiled 
or infertile. Mowcver, the infertile eggs usually sink. 
TURKEY EGCS l^ INCUBATORS. 

Will turkey eggs hatch ih an incubator? They certainly 
will. I once told a lady that from fourteen turkey eggs in 
an incubator I got fourteen turkeys. She in all seriousness 
replied that "a hen would do as well as that." If you ex- 
pect more than one turkey from an egg an incubator will 
likely disappoint you. I do not hatch turkey eggs in an 
incubator because T do not wish to raise the young in 
brooders; but if an egg gets broken I put it in an incubator. 
Last season the finest young turkey I had hatched was 
from an egg with quite a large piece of shell broken off of 
the large end and I cut a piece of cotton cloth just a little 
larger than the hole and made a flour paste, just touched the 
edges of the cotton wih it and placing it over the cavity, put 
the egg in an incubator and it hatched in due time. The 
reason I used cloth was — it is nearer the texture of the shell. 
Paper is not porous enough. Flour paiste is better than 
glue; use only just enough to make the cloth adhere to 
the egg. With a clean, damp cloth I wiped off all surplus 
paste after the cloth was put on the egg. This would not 
have hatched under a hen, as she would have broken 
the egg. 

Usually I do not care to have turkeys hatch until after 
the cold spell in May. But it is all right earlier if the 
weather is warm. Yet if they come out any time in May 
they will get the weight for the December and January 
shows. This is one advantage southern breeders have over 
western. We ship turkey eggs south as soon as the turkeys 
begin to lay. When one has a large number of early hatched 
turkeys I would not advise the raising of late ones un- 
less they can be entirely separated from other fowls of 
every kind. But if for any reason you have failed to have 
early hatched ones, hatch them late. They make fine table 
fowls. 

Years ago I bought a sitting of eggs from a prominent 
turkey fancier. I was sorely disappointed when I opened 
them as I had never seen such small turkey eggs. I made 
another order to another fancier and never saw larger eggs 
than I received. The turkeys hatched from the small eggs 
grew to be larger at maturity, though of course they were 
not so large when hatched. 

One tom from the small eggs weighed forty-four pounds 
at two years old and one hen twenty-four. Those from 
the large eggs never got so large, though they were fine 
turkeys. In speaking of this to an old lady and my sur- 
prise at results, she replied: "I don't see why you should 
be surprised. Nature does not vary much, whether In lower 
animals, the feathered tribe or the human family. All 
depends on the blood." I believe the old lady was right. 
I prefer medium sized eggs, both in turkeys and chickens. 
I find the very large eggs hatch large young, but they are 
not generally as well formed and often are weak legged 
and while medium sized ones hatch smaller young they 
seem more vigorous and grow much faster. Of course 
there are eggs that are small to deformity — so are 
there those that are large to deformity. Often the last egg 
laid before a hen goes to sitting will be so small it will 
have no yolk at all. It is also true that the largest eggs 
are not always laid by the largest hens, though as a rule 
pullets lay smaller eggs than hens. 

Many do not know the difference between an infer- 
tile and a rotten egg. A rotten egg is never clear and an 
infertile egg is always clear at hatching time and does not 
have an offensive odor. Eggs may rot from age or because 
they are not sufficiently fertilized and the germ dies be- 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



53 



foie maturing, aud they may rot under hens which sit 
well, but do not have sufficient body heat to hatch them. 
Again they may be set where there is too much dampness, 
which causes them' to rot. 

We are often asked it" fanciers do not sell eggs too 
high. We think not, for several reasons. First, customers 
often write that from five dollars' worth of eggs they sell 
ten dollars' worth of turkeys and have a good breeding 
• pen left. Second, fanciers are at great expense to hold 
stock enough to supply egg orders, and run much risk in 
holding over so many turkeys which could be sold in the 
spring. Third, the customers build their reputations on 
the fancier's work, aud certainly this is worth something. 
You are not simply buying eggs from the fancier, but you 
are buying the experience of years. 

CARE OF POVLTS-FELDING—LICE. 

I would by all means prefer a turkey hen to carry 
the turkeys. The natural mother is the turkey hen. She 
soems to understand turkey nature better than the domestic 
hen. There is only one advantage gained by letting the 
domestic hen carry the poults; they do not wander so far 
from home, though I think this is counteracted by 
the disposition of the domestic hen to wean them when they 
need a mother's care as much as when first hatched. And 
the turkey hen never begins to wander so far until the 
poults are as old as they are when domestic hens wean theid. 
I find that it is the poults which lead the mothers away; 
they go and the mother follows. 

It is a mistake Lo give a turkey so many poults; of 
course she may raise them all, but the chances are much 
better for her to raise all of twenty than they are for her 
to raise thirty to thirty-five. 

When the poults hatch be careful in your uiaiiagemeut 
of both the young ami the hen. 1 try to have the nest 
fastened very securely Tio that the little ones cannot get 
out, for they will get out of the nest and get chilled. 
Sometimes they hatch a day ahead of time. I look in the 
nest the night of the twenty-seventh day and if there are 
any poults I take out the shells and if there are only three 
or four poults I leave them in the nest; if there are six or 
eight I take them out and keep them in a flannel cloth in 
» a basket in the house, as so many left in the nest will cause 
the hen to sit off the eggs in a hovering position. If you 
take out only a very few they may get chilled. In the morn- 
ing I go again and remove the dry poults and egg shells. 
By night she will be done hatching, but as some of the 
poults are weak I just put a few of them in the nest with 
her so she will not refuse to take them in the morning. In 
the morning I have a quief place ready for her and I give 
them to her. 

I think I have at last gotten the ideal turkey coop. 1 
found that the largo coops with divisions in them were all 
right when the poults were very small, but when from five 
weeks old to the time of going on roosts, they were too 
crowded in the division coops. I now have coops four 
feet square, with height of back four feet and height of 
front five feet. The sides are of screen wire, the back and 
front of plank, with a tight board roof. These are set in 
the orchard and aro moved to a fresh grass plot every 
week when the poults are very small, and every two or three 
days as they grow older. I have board roosts put in them 
as the poults want to go on roosts, and let? them roost in 
these coops until all danger of drowning from heavy rains 
is past. Turkeys must have plenty of air. They cannot 
stand coniinement in close coops. These I now have are, 
so far as air is concerned, as good as if they sat out, and 
thoy are safe from "varmints." 



FEED FOR POULTS. 

I have tried almost every plan I ever heard of a-id 
have finally settled down into one way of feeding. 1 be- 
lieve the nearer we imitate nature the more successful we 
will be in poultry culture. I feed very little of anything 
to poults, especially very little bread. 

I never feed my poults until they are from twenty- 
four to thirty-six hours old. Then I put them out in a 
grass pasture in a large, roomy coop, with grass runs 
attached. The first feed I give is milk curd with onion 
top.s and tongue or pepper grass cut very fine, seasoned 
with black pepper. I give this morning, noon and night. 
As they grow older I add other things to the food. Table 
scraps are splendid for them. If I have infertile incubator 
eggs later experience teaches me the raw egg broken in the 
food from the first is good food, better than hard boiled 
eggs. I never uso a fresh egg, simply because f do not 
consider it at all necessary. I give milk instead of drink- 
ing water when it is plentiful. Milk has all the elements of 
fooj for the huma^ or poultry race, hence I feed all I can 
spare to my poultry. Heat the milk, but do not boil. 

I keep grit constantly before them. Wheat is one of 
th'j finest of foods for young turkeys, but it must be pure 
wheat, not cheat. Cracksd corn is splendid when tiiey are 
older. My rule has been to mix grains of wheat in the 
food from the first, so that when they are old enough to 
change from curd to grain it will not be hard to change 
foods. 

I have used corn chops and ship stulf, equal paits, put 
in the stove and made very hot, then pour cold water over 
it and have found it very good. Still I believe I must have 
some wheat mixed in. Lime should be kept where they 
can get it at will, but it should be lime that has been 
slaked a long time. I believe fresh lime will kill old and 
young turksys. 

As soon as they are old enough to eat whole corn give 
it to them, for nothing makes them grow faster and gets 
them ready for tho show room quicker. 

It is very hard to get a young turkey to change its 
habits of eating. If you commence feeding them in a plate 
it is hard to change to a pan or on the ground. The same 
holds true of the diet. Whatever they learn to eat at first 
is what they want until they are grown. If the food could 
be scattered and the turkeys allowed to hunt tor it. it would 
l)e much better for them. 

The great trouble is not so much what to feed as 
what not to feed. Turkeys should not be overfed; this is the 
mistake made by so many amateurs.. They think the more 
they feed the faster the little ones will grow. If it were 
possible to raise the tin-keys and keep them from the 
clutches of 'varmints" (there is nothing more expensive), 
the very best way to raise them would be to give them to 
the hen and let her take care of them during the day and 
feed them just a little in the evening to keep them gentle 
and make them come home. 

Do not allow your poults lo . become wild. If when 
you go to feed them you will call them and talk to them, 
they will learn to come to you anywhere. My turkeys and 
my Leghorns are grntle, and will come to me whenever they 
hear my voice. If possible, let none but a gentle hen carry 
young turkeys. A mild mother makes mild turkeys. "Like 
mother, like daughter" is certainly true of turkeys. 

I find that cracked wheat put into the stove and 
browned as we used to brown our coffee, with just enough 
cold water or sweet milk poured over it when taken out 
of the oven to dampen it thoroughly, makes a very Sue 
food for poults. I grind the wheat in a coffee mill. This I 
mix with milk curd and fine chopped onions. 



54 



TURKEYS—THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



Until I have fully tested it I will not give my opinion 
in favor of doubtful foods, and I confess I was afraid to 
give the corn chops used as chicken food, though I be- 
lieved It would be good if fed Judiciously. One season I 
began when the poults were four weeks old giving corn 
chops at night. I Just dampened with cold water and I never 
saw turkeys thrive better in my life. Be sure you do not 
gel that ground with the' cob. It is not fit to feed either to 
chickens or poults. 

I used blood meal one season and liked it very much. 
I think in order to give it 1 shall feed soft food at least 
once per week during the year. I am sure that for grow- 
ing poults and chicks it is very fine. It seems to be of great 
benefit to them while feathering. 

After turkeys are ten weeks old all that is necessary 
on a large grain farm is to see that they are protected at 
night. They will glean their own living from the fields, 
and while the "gucle man" may complain, yet if he will 
only watch them closely he will be convinced they are a 
benefit to his crop instead of an injury. Last year the 
turkeys saved the corn, but the chinch-bug killed the tur- 
keys in many localities. Turn a flock of young turkeys 
when from two or three months old or even five or six 
weeks old in your potatoes and cabbage; they will not hurt 
them, but will keep them free from bugs. Yet there is one 
kind of potato bug they seldom pick; if they do it kills 
them. But the cabbage -s^'orm does them no harm and they 
do not when young hurt the cabbage. They clean the corn 
of grasshoppers and glean after harvest in the wheat fields 
what everything else has overlooked. 

Poults will not bear handling. Mine are very gentle 
and eat out of my hands, still I never handle them in my 
hands if I can avoid it. It will not do to try to raise young 
turkeys in the same yard with other fowls. They are so 
tender that chickens run over them. One snap from the bill 
of a domestic hen will kill a very young turkey. 

What do you do with your little turkeys during a cold 
or wet spell? 

We shut them up in the house they roost in and let 
them stay there if it is very wet or cold, but if not very 
cold we let them out on our front lawn. The grass is never 
very high, and as a rule the hen will hover them and keep 
them better than iii a crowded spot. Keep little turkeys 
dry and warm, for if they once get wet or chilled they sel- 
dom recover. Some hens are more restless than others. If 
possible to avoid it never let a restless hen foster turkeys; 
however, one good feature about them is that they are gen- 
erally of that spiteful class that will protect their little 
ones. 

It does not hurt them to turn them out soon after a 
hard rain if the sun comes out warm and bright, but if it 
is cold and cloudy they will die from exposure and being 
chilled. 

But if at any time they should be caught out and some 
seem dead when found, make a fire and warm and rub them 
well. Often I have brought both chicks and poults to life 
that seemed perfectly dead. Keep them near the fire, but 
do not let them get too hot, until they are entirely dry- Give 
each of them a cracked grain of black, or a seed of red pep- 
per. This warms them and stimulates them. 

Do not put the young turkeys out near ant holes, as the 
ants if swallowed sting the crop and kill the fowl, and often 
the ants sting the poults on the body and kill them. 

Poults are greatly benefited by having their wings and 
tails cut. I find they get about so much better, and if a 
rain comes up they do not seem to get as wet, or if they do 
they dry so much faster. It takes so much strength to sup- 



port the Ions wing and tail feathers that if they are kept 
short until the turkeys are two months old they will be 
much stronger than if the wings and tail are left to grow 
without cutting. I cut the flight feathers about half, and 
the tail about the same. 

There is very little expense attached to rearing tur- 
keys, but as a rule there is a great deal of work until they 
are ten weeks old. 

Summing up the requisites for success in raising poults 
may be done in the following simple words: 

First, have vigorous parent stock, not over fat. 
Take care that the poults are not chilled the first two 
or three weeks of their lives. Be careful not to overfeed the 
poults. They require very little food for three weeks; after 
that time feed all they will eat three times a day until they 
are ready for market. If, however, you have grain fields 
for range they will eat very little of your food after they 
are six weeks old until late in the season. Be sure to keep 
them free from vermin. It is almost impossible to cure a 
droopy poult. If one is droopy, try to And the cause and 
remove it before the entire flock becomes afflicted. Young 
turkeys will do better with no human attention than with 
too much. 

riGHTING LICE ON POULTS AND ADULTS. 

1 find that whitewashing the house in which my fowls 
are kept and keeping it thoroughly clean has been a sure 
preventative of vermin on my young turkeys. 

Use tobacco stems and tobacco dust as follows: Smoke 
the roosting places with the stems and sprinkle the floors 
with the dust. If the coop in which the hen is put with the 
poults is whitewashed inside and outside before she is put 
in, she will not become lousy. 

I swept the roosting coop every day and dusted it once 
a week with air-slaked lime. Lime must be dusted spar- 
ingly, for if too much is used it wilUmake the feet sore. 

When the nest has been well prepared and dusted there 
are seldom any lice on the little ones when hatched. But 
I dust the hen with Persian insect powder when I take her 
from the nest, being very careful to shake the dust well out 
so that it will not get into the eyes of the little ones, as it 
may make them blind. 

The turkey louse is about the color of the poult and 
is very hard to find by one not experienced in the art of 
hunting them. They are between the quill (flight) feathers 
and are often in solid knots, and at first glance will not 
be discovered, as they do not move until disturbed. A 
little clear lard oil v/ill kill them, but it must be very care- 
fully used. I prefer using it at night. Dust the hen well with 
insect powder when you turn her out in the morning. I 
know most persons say at night, but I have found the 
powder gets into the eyes of the poults. 

One thing is certain and that is that poults must be 
kept free from lice and mites. Then it is equally certain 
that if not careful in the use of remedies for these the poults 
may be killed. A little pure lard on the head, around vent, 
and on the wings, where the flight feathers come out, may 
be used to advantage, but too much is absolutely fatal. I 
would not advise the use of sulphur in lard to grease the 
heads. The lard is sufficient and the sulphur takes away 
proper use of legs; it is also liable to cause blindness. Use 
clear lard or thick cream. Liquid lice killer is equally danger- 
ous if not carefully used. It may be put on the outside of the 
coops or a little on inside after they are a few weeks old, 
provided it is done in the morning and the coops are aired 
well during the day. Never put it on the floors, for if the 
hen sits over it, it will suffocate the poults. This Is equally 
true of little chicks. I have tried it and know from ex- 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



55 



perience. Yet there are no better insecticides tliau these 
liquid lice killers if properly used. They will kill mites and 
chiggers and everything in that line, even bedbugs, which 
infest hen houses in some localities. 

Southern turkey breeders complain that many poults 
ara killed by chiggers, which do more damage than any 
other one thing. 

We presume this is the little grass chigger which bur- 
ies itself in the flesh — at least it does on people — and is 
very hard to exterminate and very painful to endure. We 
had never thought of this. The only remedy known to us 
is grease, and too much of that is fatal to the poults. 

In the late fall and winter lice are hard on turkeys— 
they cannot find good dust baths as they can in summer, 
hence it is necessary to use our best efforts to kill the ver- 
min on them, for they cannot thrive with vermin sapping 
th&ir strength. 

PREPARING TURKEYS FOR MARKET. 

Many persons wish to know when to begin to prepare 
turkeys for market. The best time to begin is when they 
are hatched and keep up the preparation until they are put 
on the market. If you live on a grain or stock farm let 
your turkeys have free access to the feeding stalls and grain 
shocks and they will take care of themselves. If you, like 
myself, are limited to a small place, the feeding must be 
kept up all the year. It will not do to increase the food 
too rapidly at first. During the summer feed adult turkeys 
only once a day, but about September I begin feeding them 
twice a day, morning and evening, all that they will eat, 
or rather, as I keep the parent stock in the pens, my plan 
has been to scatter Lhe food in the morning so that they 
shall be kept busy all day hunting for it. At night I give 
a full feed where they can get it without any trouble, and 
gradually increase the quantity of food as the cold 
weather approaches. I find that both old and young turkeys 
thrive better and eat more when the food is scattered than 
when it is given to them in pans. I have long since discard- 
ed feeding troughs in my poultry yards. They were a dis- 
advantage to both old and young. In my opinion much of 
the so-called cholera is traceable to the feeding trough. 
Turkeys especially are naturally inclined to take a small 
quantity of food at a time and when fed in troughs they 
will fill their crops and do not take enough exercise to cause 
good digestion. 

For fattening I prefer corn to anything else, unless it be 
crushed corn. Feed whole corn on the ear or scatter it in 
straw so they must work to get it. 

If you have never noticed the necessity of lime for 
turkeys watch them pick whitewash off the sides of houses. 
Make this difference in the treatment of those intended for 
market and those kept to breed from: Put all the food be- 
fore the market fowl it will eat; make it as fat as possible— 
but if you get your breeding stock too fat, infertile eggs 
will be the result. 

Be sure you do not wait until the day before Thanks- 
giving to try to sell your stock. The highest prices are us- 
ually obtainable the week before the holiday feasts. As a 
rule there is a great rush to market with turkeys two days 
before Thanksgiving. The rush often causes the price to 
drop just when the most was expected. I have known the 
highest prices to be obtained between Thanksgiving and 
Christmas and in February. Of course the locality has 
something to do with the price, and there may, in the same 
locality, be different influences at different seasons. We 
have to do as our husbands do with their stock, watch and 
sell at the most propitious time. If I had only a few I would 
sell all at once, but if I raised from seventy-five to a hun- 



dred I should sell at different times. One can sell the 
oldest first, thus giving the younger ones a chance. Mar- 
ket birds can not h'i too fat, but they may be too heavy 
for the highest prices. A few farmers in our county un- 
derstand this, and do not buy the largest toms to breed 
from; others run to the other extreme, inbreeding and buy- 
ing culls until their turkeys are too small to be profitable. 
I should prefer large breeding stock to small, even if I 
sold on the market, for if I get a lower price the difference 
in pounds would more than make the difference in price. 

How much ought young toms to weigh at Thanksgiving, 
is a question often asked me. That depends on when they 
were hatched. An early hatched, say one hatched in May, 
will weigh from twenty to twenty-four pounds, and some 
few will go higher. One market poultryman says that an 
average of eighteen and twenty pounds is the rule, while 
those going above that are the exception. 

I have been asked if I think it better to dress turkeys 
or sell them on foot; "which is the most profitable?" The 
answer to this (as most answers are) is dependent. I have 
a friend who dresses her turkeys about the middle of Feb- 
ruary for the St. Louis market. She says she makes money 
by so doing. I know others who say it does not pay them 
at all. 

The cause of the difference of opinion lies in the dif- 
ference of surroundings. The lady who says it pays her 
to dress her turkeys for market does the work herself and 
says she makes fair wages at the difference in the price be- 
tween dressed turkeys and turkeys on foot. My opinion is 
that tlie average farmer's wife had better sell her turkeys 
on foot, but this is a question upon which there is a dif- 
ference of opinion and one which each one must decide for 
herself. 

I never sold a dressed turkey, yet I know how farmers' 
wives dress them for our market, and I dress them for my 
own table the same way. We cut the heads off and let 
them bleed well and then dry pick them and remove their 
entrails, washing them thoroughly with cold or luke warm 
water. Plump the carcass by pouring boiling water over it, 
then salt and let it freeze before cooking, if possible. Very 
few salt them to put them on the market. 

Talk about turkeys eating their heads off! If a man 
sells hogs at five cents a pound he thinks he is doing a 
fine business, says he is getting fifty cents a bushel for his 
corn, but when a woman sells her turkeys even at eight 
cents a pound she is doing far better and is doing her hus- 
band a double favor; it is a favor to him for her to pay 
her own and part of his bills; besides she gets eight cents 
a pound for grasshoppers, which but for her turkeys would 
destroy the corn fodder and injure the hay as well as ruin 
the cabbage. 

PREPARING TURKEYS FOR EXHIBITION. 

This one thing I never lose sight of or forget— the show 
room. Not alone for the scores I wish to receive on my 
birds, but on account of the remembrance of what I gain at 
the shows in point of knowledge and the pleasure I derive 
from association with the many noble men and women to 
be met there. 

Many limid ones are deterred from entering the show 
room because they dread coming in competition with the 
moguls of the poultry business. To such I say, come! You 
have nothing to lose by the comparison and you may be 
a winner of the prizes. At any rate you will know what 
the judges think of your birds, and will learn how to im- 
prove your stock. The show room is an educator and we 
need all the education we can get it we intend to stay in 
the business. Nor does it follow that because they fail to 



56 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



win a prize, your stock Is poor. You will learn what it takes 
to make a prize bird and what constitutes a good breeding 
bird. Attend a poultry show or two each year if it is pos- 
sible for you to do so. 

Oil large farms it is not necessary to begin heavy 
feeding until the weather begins to get cool. But where 
one has limited room they must be fed the year round. Do 
not selecL show birds until they are through molting, if old 
birds are exhibited. A breeder of thoroughbred turkeys, 
for sale as fancy stock, must feed his entire flock with an 
aim to getting them in condition for winter shows either 
in his own hands or in the hands of his cuseomers. 

Generally cocks may be depended on molting true to the 
markings of the cockerel, but hens often are not as good 
in markings as they were as puilets. Still, I think turkeys 
are more regular in their markings after molting than 
chickens. 

If a turkey is in healthy condition the feathers will be 
glossy, if not, they will not be. 

I think that to keep turkeys healthy and gentle and 
well fed is about all the preparation turkeys need. It will 
not do to put them in confinement longer than ten days, 
and then it will not do to have them in a strange place, 
as they will not eat. Give them all the corn, grit and lime 
they will eat, with pienty of grass and water, and they will 
fatten. 

How do I manage to feed my turkeys to get them in 
weight for the shows and not get the entire flock too fat? I 
keep only a few turkeys on my home place at one time, not 
more than fifty to seventy-five in winter and only my breed- 
ing stock in summer. As I am continually shipping them I 
select the best in size and that leaves the smaller ones a 
better chance to grow. I cannot separate those intended for 
the show room from the others, so I feed all alike and take 
the heaviest to the show, no matter if they are not so well 
marked as the others, for it is the heavy turkey which wins 
in the show room. In fact, I have only a few times taken 
my best marked turkeys to a show. 

I have had very few persons come to my yards who 
knew how to catch a turkey or chicken. I can pick my 
turkeys or chickens up anywhere in the yard with the as- 
sistance of one whom I have trained. In the first place I 
am very gentle with my fowls. I talk to them when I feed 
them. You may wonder what I say. Well, I find they are 
like the human race, susceptible to flattery. If flattery it may 
be called; I do not intend it as such, for I mean every word 
of it. I call them pretty things— tell them they are the 
prettiest turkeys anywhere around — talk to them about go- 
ing to the shows, and tell them how they must behave to 
appear well; in fact, I am never at a loss for something to 
say to my fowls. When I want to catch one I prefer to go 
out in the yard, look the flock over while they are out, se- 
lect the one I want, call my assistant, and point out the 
turkey. Then I begin to feed, and usually I can catch the 
one I desire while they are eating. Never rush into the flock 
or shoo a turkey. Very quietly step up behind it and catch 
it by the legs. Be sure to take hold of both legs as you 
catch one, then you can easily pick the bird up and it will 
not flap its wings and hurt itself. If there are several to 
catch and you do not wish to put them in different coops 
it is better to catch all you need before cooping any. A 
child can hold a forty pound torn if he knows how. Just 
lay him flat on his side or breast and hold his legs close to 
the thighs and he will not attempt to get away. I have 
often released one after holding it in this manner, and it 
would lie still for one or two minutes before getting up. 



PACKING CCCS FOR SHIPPING. 

It may sound egotistical, but I believe I can pack eggs 
that will go around the globe without breaking, that is, 
with reasonable handling; yet last year the only chick eggs 
reported broken did not go two hundred miles, and had they 
not been sent to a relative as a present I presume I should 
have heard about them with no uncertain sound. They evi- 
<leutly had been pitched off the car as baggage and crushed 
under some heavy body. 

First ilne the basket with paper, then put in an inch of 
hay chaff in bottom if it is a large basket and many eggs 
are to go in; if it is only a peck basket, three-fourths or a 
h.ilf oi an inch will be sufficient, but it must have a soft 
padding at bottom. Reliue with a good heavy paper. Wrap 
each egg with paper, but do not wrap too tight; use plenty 
of paper and do it nicely. I always pack with the small end 
dov/n, because the white is in the small end and the yolk 
will not break if allowed to float upon it, while if the large 
end is down there is nothing to prevent the yolk breaking 
from the jar of the travel. Of course if the yolk is broken 
the egg cannot hatch. 

DISEAStS OF TURKFYS— CANKER. 

I receive a great many questions as to what to do for 
sick poults. I am a poor doctor for little turkeys. I really 
believe that where the parent stock is not related or inbred 
that it is poor management where there are sick poults. 

Canker is more prevalent than many persons suppose, 
and while often a fowl may die before it is discovered, the 
rule is it becomes droopy and refuses to eat. The discharges 
liecome yellowish green, sometimes looking like the yellow 
of an egg. The canker extends often to the throat and fre- 
quently forms on the tongue at the opening of the wind pipe 
and stops the air passages. 

To cure canker I have found Mustang Liniment better 
than anything else I have ever used. If this cannot be ob- 
tained, wash in a strong copperas water and grease with 
carbolized vaseline, in which put a few drops of tincture of 
iodine. This is an effectual cure, but it takes longer treat- 
ment and is more trouble. But the fowl, turkey or chicken 
will need a tonic to correct the digestion and tone the sys- 
tem. I give a liver pill, any that I would use for a person. 
Give this at night and a two-grain quinine capsule in the 
morning. A little copperas and extract of logwood in the 
drinking water usually cure the trouble. Use whatever 
poultry tonic or cholera cure you may deem best mixed 
in food. Make into long rolls and put down the throat, 
then give the water from a bottle. I also put grit in food. 
Feed only once a aay while the food must be given, but 
when the turkey can pick food, give twice a day and sepa- 
rate from other fowls. If I use Mustang Liniment I put 
a few drops down the throat, for I think often the canker 
extends through the system. 

If I am sure there is no canker I omit the treatment 
for that and give the other treatment. Do not let the fowl 
have anything to eat or drink which is not medicated until 
you know it is well. The quinine capsule may be given 
every morning for a week, the liver pill every other day un- 
til three aro given. 

I have never lost a turkey under the foregoing treat- 
ment when I have been able to give it regularly. And sev- 
eral customers have reported that under my directions they 
have saved their turkeys. 

GAPES. 

To prevent the disease I use a little turpentine in the 
drinking water. A dash of flowers of sulphur iu the food once 
a week will be beneficial until they are well feathered. Cop- 
peras in the drinking water and onions iu the food will gen- 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



57 



erally prevent gapes. Turkeys having vermin are more like- 
ly to be affected. I have been advised to use sour cream in- 
stead of lard to grease young turkeys. 

If I find the poults have gapes I put Dalmation or Per- 
sian insect powder in the food and have no further trouble. 
I sprinkle the powder into the food just as I would pepper. 
I have cured several chicks of the gapes by first puffing the 
powder in the wind pipe. This kills the worms, and I ex- 
tract them with a gape extractor made of a piece of soft 
grass. If the worms are taken out the chicken will recover 
unless it is injured by the operation. They are easier to 
take out dead than alive and I find the powder good, but one 
has to be careful not to get too much in the wind pipe or 
the poult or chick will not be able to breathe. 

AIR PUFF. 

One night I noticed that the neck of one of my young 
turkeys was so badiy swollen it could not get its mouth to 
the ground to eat. I picked it up and found its whole body 
in the same condition. The skin only seemed puffed. I took 
a pair of sharp scissors and clipped the skin in several 
places. The air escaped and the turkey began to chirp. I put 
it with the others and it ate heartily. I put a teaspoonful of 
coal oil in the drinking water with a few drops of carbolic 
acid. 

The next morning I noticed its wings dropping down 
and it was as badly puffed as before. I repeated the clipping 
and this time I clipped around the neck; I went deeper 
than I intended and the neck began to bleed freely. I felt 
that this would kill it, but I knew it would die anyway 
if not relieved, so I did not grieve. I took a feather and 
dipped it in tar and covered the bleeding wound, then I 
greased it with pure lard. My husband said: "You have 
killed that turkey." I replied: "Yes, I think I have, but 
I was trying to save it." To my astonishment it came up 
that night as lively as any of the others. I cut both wings 
and in the morning 1 showed it to my husband. We were 
both surprised. Ten days after it was as strong to all ap- 
pearances as any of the others and it never puffed after- 
ward. I concluded the bleeding was good for it, yet I would 
not know just how to advise it to be done, as I did that by 
accident. 

BUMBLCFOOT. 

Bumblofoot is a hard place on the bottom of the foot 
which often becomes very sore and contains pus. It is 
claimed that it is usually caused by the fowls roosting high 
and coming down on the ground with such force as to 
bruise the foot. I am inclined to favor this theory, though 
some high in authority deny it. At any rate, turkeys and 
chickens are often found with feet in this condition. I 
wait until the sore becomes soft, open it with a sharp knife 
and squeeze it until all the pus and the core, if I can get it, 
run out. If the core does not come out it will run out in a 
few days if the foot is bound up with a good salve. 

I find one of the best salves I ever used to be vaseline, 
turpentine, a few drops of crude carbolic acid and tincture 
of iodine. I cannot give the proportions because I do not 
measure or drop by count. I generally make about a tea- 
cup full in the fall or early winter and it lasts me all sea- 
son. A friend told me that resin would add to its merits. 
I put the ingredients all on the stove and mix them together 
and the next time I make this salve I think I shall add the 
resin. 

Salv« is also good for sore head, but it is better to wash 
the head with copperas water before using the salve. If you 
can afford to buy Mexican Mustang Liniment it is even bet- 
ter thap salve, but one often does not have the liniment at 
hand and can make the salv«. 



BOWEL TROUBLE. 

The coops in wnich the poults roost must have plenty of 
fresh air as well as be vat proof. If the weather is cold 
and damp tUey must be kept in pens, so they can be hov- 
ered by the hen. If she is at liberty she is liable to walk 
around in the weeds or grass and the poults will chill and 
become locse in the bowels. And they generally die when 
this disease is caused by the above treatment. However, 
if they are not too much chilled, pen them up, make a very 
weak pepper tea and give this for drinking water. Sweet 
milk is a good remedy lor bowel trouble with poults. 

If you do not over feed your young birds nor give them 
too much water while young, and do not let them get wet 
and chilled, thereby contracting cold, they will not have 
bowel trouble. They are not as apt to drink too much 
where they can run at large as they are when kept in con- 
finement. When running at large I keep water where they 
can have access to it, but when penned up I give them a 
drink only three times a day. 

Do not let the poults get wet. I am trying to plan a 
way to have them roost on a dirt floor, yet not on damp 
earth. I think the dampness of the ground gives them rheu- 
matism, or makes them delicate, but the hen mashes the 
poults on a plank floor. I think if the dirt can be thrown 
up around the coop, so as to keep the ground dry, it will 
he l)etter. 

Where milk curd, seasoned with black pepper and salt, 
is fed for the firsc ton days, there will be no danger of loose 
bowels, provided other health precautions are observed. 
Lice will cause bowel trouble, as will too much heat. When 
caused by heat give a teaspoonful of carbolic acid in a gal- 
Iru! of water. 

Keep the drinking fountains clean and fresh. This can 
be done by washing them out with carbolized water. 

Logwood is excellent for loose bowels. I have used and 
recommended it for years. There is no danger of using too 
much and there is nothing better for ordinary bowel trouble 
either in chicks, poults or grown fowls. It comes by the 
pound in boxes and sells here at ten cents per pound. I put 
a lump of it in a glass fruit jar, using as large a lump as I 
can get into the jar and pour warm fnot hot) water over 
it. Every morning I put jiist enough of this into the drinking 
water to color it and it keeps the bowels in a healthy condi- 
tion. If fowls are sick I use it stronger. • 

Overfeeding pr-oduces indigestion and indigestion causes 
bowel trouble. Vermin and overfeeding kill more poults 
than all other causes. Lice will produce all the symptoms 
of disease. When a poult dies from overfeeding a post mor- 
tem will usually disclose the liver swollen and probably 
splotched. When it is iu this condition there is no chance 
for the poult. If taken in time a radical change of diet will 
effect a cure. 

HOT MASHES. 

A lady iu Maryland writes: "I can't agree with you that 
hot mashes cause roup, tor in my native home (Canada) I 
fed my turkeys hot mashes from the time they were a few 
weeks old until they are grown, and so did my neighbors, 
and we raised large liocks and were never troubled with 
roup. Here I have not fed the mash and have the roup." 
Roosting in trees may be the cause of roup in her flocks 
now, as she says they never had it when roosting under 
shelter. I agree with her that in extreme climates a shel- 
ter is better. She also gives me a preventative for fighting 
which I certainly shall use. I give it to the readers of this 
book: Tie a small bell around the neck of toms showing a 
disposition to fight. The noise attracts their attention so 
they forget to fight. 



58 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



CROP BOUND. 

In the early spring the trouble most to be dreaded with 
turkeys is crop bound, caused from eating dry grass. No 
one can prevent this unless they have green fields or grain 
for them to run in, rye or wheat fields. Even then some- 
times they will fill their crops with the dry grass, which 
forms a hard ball in the crop and unless it can be made to 
pass, it will kill the fowl. Sometimes it will pass out 
after a while without any treatment. Some recommend 
cutting the crop, taking the substance out and sewing up the 
crop, and they say it never fails to cure. This may be 
true with experts at the business, but with me it is a 
total failure. I tried it and thought it was a success, but 
several weeks afterward I discovered that the crops had 
never grown together where they were cut open and the 
thread rotted out, so they died. I have lost some of the 
finest turkeys I ever owned from this trouble and have cured 
others seemingly as bad off. 

I have not found an infallible cure and the most ef- 
fectual cure I have found is very tedious. I give the tur- 
key a dose of castor oil or Epsom salts as soon as I find it 
has the trouble. I hold it and pour all the water into the 
crop I think it safe to give and 1 also put a tablespoontul 
of mica crystal grit in some soft food, make it in long 
rolls and put down the throat. Turkeys are easily choked 
and unless the food is made in long, slender rolls they are 
liable to choke. The reason I put the grit in the food is 
that it is liable to go down the wind pipe if poured into the 
mouth alone. Then I very gently get hold of the ball in the 
crop from the outside and work it with both hands, having 
someone else hold the turkey. I can generally soften the 
ball very perceptibly the first time I treat the turkey. The 
grit in the food gets into the softened parts and helps divide 
the ball, the oil takes ail that it is possible to get out of the 
crop, out of the system so that it does not clog iu the giz- 
zard, as it :s liable to do if not worked off immediately. 
The working must be very gently done, as it bruises the 
crop. I repeat this process every morning at fii-st and give 
plenty of soft food and grit during the day. 

If I discover, as is often the case, that the turkey is 
getting weak, I give a two-grain capsule of quinine every 
morning. This increases the appetite and gives strength 
to the bird. 1 give plenty of onions in the food. The treat- 
ment must be kept up until all the ball has entirely passed 
out of the system. 1 do not give the oil more than once a 
week after the first few days. 

One of the best toms I ever owned, a full brother to 
"Champ Clark," who scored from 97 to 98 by every judge 
wno saw him, was crop bound, and as I had sold "Champ 
Clark" I was anxious to save the brother, which I consid- 
ered just as good. I thought he was entirely cured, and 
he was to all appearances well. He had gained flesh and 
was as hearty as any bird on the place. I fed him at night 
and noticed how well he looked. The next morning I 
found him dead under the roost. He weighed forty pounds 
and of course looked finer after death than I had considered 
him in life. My only consolation was that he had waited 
until after the breeding season was almost over before he 
died. 

On examination I found that a ball (not a very large 
one, either) of dried grass had lodged In the vent, which 
prevented anything from passing, and this caused his death. 
He had been from under treatment about two months and I 
believed if I had continued the oil once a week he would 
have lived. 

Once I noticed a turkey with the same symptoms, but 



all my treatment availed nothing and he died. I examined 
him and found the gizzard packed with dry grass and sn 
nothing could have saved him. 

"My turkeys are affected with what I call pendant crop. 
The crops hang down like a bag, sometimes low enough 
to interfere with walking and is filled with dark liquid. The 
turkeys eat. but are pale about the head. What shall I do 
for them?" 

Give them a teaspoonful of baking powder; soda will 
not do. This is a dose for one old turkey. I do not find 
the baking powder an infallible cure, but it is the best 
thing I have tried. Two doses usually cure. Keep the tur- 
key inclosed and do not feed until the powder has been in 
the crop an hour or two; then give soft food, wheat bread 
made into long rolls, and put down the throat. The roll 
must not be very large. Do not give any water until the 
liquid has passed out of the crop. A little salt mixed in 
the food will assist in carrying the impurities out of the 
system. Epsom salts are better than oil for crop-bound 
fowls. You will have to be very careful to keep water from 
them until they have entirely recovered, or the crop will 
refill and the second attack is always worse or more stub- 
born than the first. It is very unusual for this trouble to 
arise in summer. It is prevalent during the latter part of 
winter and early spring. 

CHOLERA. 

The cry of cholera among turkeys comes to me from 
many persons, and these are not confined to a given local- 
ity or state. From Mississippi, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, 
Iowa and many other states I have received letters reporting 
cholera among turkeys and often they say there are no 
symptoms of the trouble among the chickens. The fact 
that the turkeys linger for days and sometimes even weeks 
is one reason for believing it is not cholera. Another is 
that in many instances the chickens and turkeys are in the 
same yard and the chickens are not affected; then agaiu, 
about the only symptom common to all inquiries is that 
the droppings are a yellowish green. Some describe the 
heads as black, saying they mope around and will not eat. 
Others say the head is red to the last and they eat up to 
a few minutes before they are seized with an attack like 
convulsions, and still others say they have puffs under the 
eyes, while another fiock has a white substance floating 
over the eye. 

It is a fact that almost any disease of a turkey will 
cause the dropping to become yellowish green, showing that 
disease in turkeys, like disease in the human family, sooner 
or later affects the digestive organs. 

Often indigestion is the cause of the trouble. I am 
not quite positively certain that I ever had a genuine case 
of cholera in my yards, though I well remember when I 
thought every chicken or turkey that died had it. 

1 have been informed by one of the R. P. J. correspon- 
dents that there is a much larger per cent of deaths from 
what is known as black head than from cholera, and that it 
is infectious. He says what has often been pronounced 
cholera is black head. He also informs me there is abso- 
lutely no remedy for it which can be relied upon to be even 
comparatively a cure, and that the cause is unknown. This 
he wrote me some time since. He said that Lee's Ger- 
mozone is the best remedy known to him. I had some ex- 
perience with the trouble in the flock of a neighbor, and 
I decided it was caused from overfeeding while young, and 
then turning them out without any food; at least I found 
when I examined after death that the liver was perfectly 
soft and the gizzard twice the size it should have been. 

I find many persons use a great deal of red or cayenne 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



59 



pepper and soda in turkey food. Because I had been taught 
to do this I did lilce my neighbors when I commenced rais- 
ing turlieys, but I soon began to use ray common sense 
and I wondered how en earth anything could live, es- 
pecially a wee bit of a turkey with the crop filled with 
pepper, soda, sulphur, copperas, also custard, milk, curd and 
many other things I was told I would have to feed to be 
successful. I said: "I shall try a way of my own," and 
whenever I have had the sense to do my own way I 
have succeeded in keeping my flock healthy. 

Red pepper is a good tonic for chickens in cold weather 
if given in minute quantities. 

I find carbolic acid in drinking water, a teaspoonful to 
a gallon of water, is one of the best things to keep their 
bowels in good condition I have ever tried. Epsom salts and 
salt, a teaspoonful of each to a gallon of water, is also good. 
Too much salt will throw a turkey into fits, so will too 
much tobacco, but they will recover from the tobacco dust 
as soon as they get the fresh air, while from salt taken into 
the system they do not recover. 

Whenever the droppings look yellowish I use my Chol- 
era Cure — not that I believe they have cholera, but the drop- 
pings indicate indigestion. 

RHEUMATISM. 

Several letters have come in, asking what to do for 
lameness in little turkeys, describing the poults as being af- 
fected with swollen Joints. I think this trouble arises from 
dampness. Either the poults roost in damp places or exceed- 
ingly wet weather has been conducive to the disease. The 
trouble is doubtless rheumatism and the best remedy 1 know 
is elder bark prepared as follows: Get the bark and scrape 
off the outside skin, cut in small pieces and put in apple 
vinegar. It does not matter how much bark you put in, 
but the stronger it is the better. Put in a half gal- 
lon fruit jar- and add a piece of alum as large as a 
walnut and the same amount of copperas. Put all 
the bark in the jar you can get in, pouring the vine- 
gar over it. Put enough of this liquid in the drinking water 
to make It taste of acid, but not enough to be unpleasant 
to the taste. I am sure this will prevent the trouble if it 
does not cure it, and I think it will cure it, provided the 
poults are kept free from dampness. I should use Mustang 
also or any good liniment that I would use for myself. A 
little tincture of iodine in the drinking water is good as 
a tonic. 

I should feed either a little black or red pepper in the 
food for several days. In that time if I found I could not cure 
the fowl I would kill it, but if it were getting better I should 
continue the treatment. 

Once I noticed one of my poults could not walk, one leg 
seemed to be perfectly straight and the poult held it so 
that it appeared to be behind it. I tried to bend it and it 
seemed stiff in the joints. But I bent it several times a 
day for four days when it was able to walk on both feet. 

ROUP-CANKER-SWELLED EYES AND HEAD. 

I have cured several cases of so-called roup in the fol- 
lowing manner. I made a strong salt water just as hot as 
I could bear my hand in comfortably and dipped the tur- 
key's head in it, completely immersing the head. I use an 
old tin can for this purpose. I let the head stay in the 
water as long as I thought it safe for the turkey. I then 
take it out and give it fresh air, press the nostrils between 
my thumb and forefinger. If there is any secretion, this 
will start a running at the nose. I open the mouth and 
insert a mop made by wrapping a soft cloth on a small 
stick, into the opening in the roof of the mouth, dipping it 
fim into salt water; then I dip in coal oil. I make a salve 



of carbolic acid, a few drops of lard, spirits of camphor, 
a teaspoonful, a teaspoonful of tincture of iodine and an- 
oint the eyes, head and fill the nostrils and opening in roof 
of mouth. With a clean cloth I wiped the head as dry as 
possible, (I tried not wiping the head and found it made 
the turkey too cold) then I rubbed it hard until it was dry. 
Put a little salt and Epsom salts in the drinking water. This 
will almost invariably cure the roup in its first stages. If a 
turkey has arrived at an advanced stage of roup before it is 
noticed I would kill it as the only sure cure. 

For rattling in the throat I find nothing better than 
coal oil with a little molasses in it. 

Sometimes cauker is caused by fighting. I had a tom, 
for which I paid $10, that got to fighting and had canker 
on the side of his mouth, caused by the bite of the other 
tom. All I did for him was to paint his mouth with iodine. 
He was a vigorous, healthy bird and produced strong poults. 
I also advise the use of Mexican Mustang Liniment, used ac- 
cording to directions. 

Sometimes turkeys have a soft, swelled place under the 
eyes. The first thing is to put them by themselves. With 
the finger press the soft swelling, letting the pressure go 
towards the bill. The phlegm will go out at the nose in most 
cases. Take a sewing machine oil can and fill with warm 
water, into which a few drops of tincture of iodine have 
been dropped; if the water is almost hot it will be all the 
better. After washing the head in strong salt water as hot 
as can be borne, inject the water from the can into the nos- 
trils and the opening in the roof of the mouth. Make a 
salve of lard, turpentine, crude carbolic acid, copperas melt- 
ed in the lard and flowers of sulphur. Anoint with this. If 
this is done once a day for a week the turkey will be well 
un'.cES it is incurable. If there is pus, an incision made 
with a sharp knife to let the pus out will be necessary. But 
the bird will need something to cleanse the system, and 
Cushman's Roup Cure will be very fine. 

However, the trouble is likely to return if you turn the 
turkey out in the cold. If it is worth the trouble it is better 
to keep it in the house until cold weather is over. Peed 
onions, soft food, corn and plenty of grit. I find Littell's 
liquid sulphur will do for flowers of sulphur in almost every 
case where flowers of sulphur is needed. I think simple reme- 
dies will cure almost any trouble if taken in time. Do not 
fail to give onions once a week during the fall and through- 
out the winter. They are a safeguard against roup and any 
diseases caused by cold. 

For canker sores try putting a little alum in the drink- 
ing water one day and copperas the next. Apply Mexican 
Mustang Liniment to the affected parts. Conkey's Roup 
Cure in the drinking water will be beneficial to the general 
health. 

WORMS 

"My turkeys are dying fast and I found worms in the 
droppings. What must I do for them?" 

If the entire flock is sick, give turpentine in drinking 
water and in the food — a tablespoonful of turpentine to a 
gallon of water and a teaspoonful to a quart of food; also 
add a tablespoonful of Epsom salts to a gallon of water. 
Give both the turpentine and salts at the same time. If 
only one turkey is thus affected I would catch it and give 
it a teaspoonful of castor oil, into which put five or six drops 
of turpentine; then feed as a tonic cholera cure. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 

1 quote from an old number of the R. P. J. from an 
article on "Turkeys as Hatchers": 

"When I first read in an English poultry book of the 
Fi-ench method of using turkeys to hatch and care for chick- 



60 



■ TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



ens, I had no incubator and concluded to try the plan. Late 
in the fall I sent out in the country and bought a late 
hatched hen turkey for very little money. In February we 
prepared a box (with plenty of chaff over a layer of horse 
manure) that could be shut up to exclude the light. Did 
not give either wine nor whiskey, but in two or three weeks 
she was sitting quietly on the china eggs and when taken 
oft" the nest to be ted would voluntarily return. I then filled 
the nest with hens' eggs, removing them as soon as they 
began to pip to keep the turkey from wanting to leave the 
nest and putting in other eggs. After sitting three months 
she was put in a yard with chickens for the rest of the sum- 
mer. We put chickens of different ages with her and she 
received them all with equal kindness. 

"This year we have two turkeys besides an incubator, 
and after hatching three sittings of eggs we thought best 
to take them off the nest, but one watched her chance and 
went back on the nest till I filled it with eggs again, so I 
let her stay. The other is laying and will be ready for work 
later it needed. 

"They make careful, patient mothers, are equal iu that 
respect to any hen, and it is a wonder that farmers do not 
make more use of them than they do. C. H. A." 

f ARMING our TURKEYS. 

I am often asked if I find it satisfactory to farm out 
my turkeys. It is perfectly satisfactory, because I have no 
one to raise turkeys for me who is not in all respects reli- 
able; besi des they hatch them earlier than I can, as the 
twenty-five or thirty hens kept at home do not lay eggs 
any faster than I have calls for them from the time they 



begin laying until the first of June. I have young turkeys 
now out oa the farms that one has to look at the second 
time to be sure whether they arc hens or young turkeys. 
Farm-bred turkeys do not get very fat, consequently do not 
weigh as heavy when I take them as I would make them 
weigh to please those who demand the pounds of flesh, but 
the frame is there. Be sure you know with whom you are 
placing your stock and you will have no difficulty. 

Each season teaches us some lesson that is profitable to 
us for the next. I have learned to take only one flock of 
hens and pullets and another of toms on the place at one 
time. When two or more flocks are brought in at the same 
time they fight so they will not eat and do not fatten. I 
find it better to pay board for a few flocks on the farms 
than to bring them together on the home place. I could 
not raise all my stock at home and furnish pairs and trios 
not related, nor could I ship as I now do to the same cus- 
tomers every year and insure a change of blood. 

To those persons who have written me, asking if I think 
it will pay to raise turkeys, I can only say that I have never 
heard any one who has given it a fair trial say that it 
does not pay. Still I would not advise one to undertake 
to raise turkeys who is not willing or physically able to 
expose himself to all sorts of weather, both hot and cold. 
Turkeys must be kept dry while young and gotten home 
eariy in the afternoon. 

How shall you succeed with turkeys? The best way to 
succeed is to keep on trying. If you fail this year, get more 
in earnest and try again next year. 

MRS. BKTTIE GLOVER MACKEY. 



RAISING TURKEYS. 



By J. C. Clipp. 




HE laying stock should be the first thought. It is 
best to use rather old hens mated with young 
but matured gobblers, or old gobblers mated to 
young hens. We prefer the first mentioned mat- 
ing. As it nears the laying period more care 
should be devoted to the food. We use little corn 
and give a soft niash with one part meat and bone to six 
or eight parts mixed food. Give the turkeys full iiberty 
and give only half rations. If the range is good feed 
morning and night. Give soft food in the morning, 
wheat and oats at night. Care should be used not to 
have the young turkeys too fat, and keep a constant 
lookout for lice. Be sure to have a tight board bot- 
tom to the coop. This bottom should be cleaned and then 
dusted with dust or sand, or sprinkled with bright wheat 
straw every day. 

Cut the grass short where the coops are located, and 
for some distance around. Always place the coops on 
ground that fowls never run over; keep everything very 
clean. Always feed on a clean board, and never feed more 
that the turkeys will eat up clean. Keep a supply of good 
drinking water and wash out the drinking vessel every day. 
It is best to keep sharp grit and coarse ground bone in 
dishes close to the feeding boards. 

Keep the young turkeys confined close to the coop the 
first week, then let them run at will, but never let them 
get caught in a shower or run in the dew. -If a young tur- 
key once gets wet and chilled it is hard to restore it again. 

The first week we feed hard boiled eggs, into which is 
mixed a little ground black pepper. As soon as we remove 



the young from the nest we give each a grain of black 
pepper. When they are one week old we remove the board 
pen and let them run at will, but always train them to come 
tip morning, noon and night for meals. We prepare soaked 
bread in a little sweet milk, with onion tops cut fine and 
mixed with their food, just enough to flavor nicely, and we 
enjoy that noon feed as much as the turkeys, to see them 
coming through the wood pasture meeting us, and we notice 
that they always clean up the onion tops first. 

When lice make their appearance dust the turkeys with 
insect powder and grease their heads with lard, using grease 
carefully. We have been told not to give the young turkeys 
any drinking water, but this is all nonsense. We give our 
turkeys all the fresh water they will drink, but care is used 
that the vessels are clean and a few drops of carbolic acid 
is used to each gallon of water. 

In the spring we purchase a few sittings of eggs from 
the best heavy weight and laying strains of Mammoth 
Bronze turkeys that we can get, in order to build up our 
stock and keep them hardy and never inbred. We prefer 
the Mammoth Bronze turkeys because they grow larger and 
are very hardy. 

We always raise with domestic hens, as they do not 
wander far from home and always bring their flocks up at 
night. 

The secret in raising turkeys successfully is in having 
strong, healthy fowls, using clean food and fresh water and 
keeping the young free from lice and out of storms. 

J. C. CLIPP. 



ADVICE ON RAISING TURKEYS, 



Description of the Mammoth Brome—Turkeys Need Room— Care and Management of Young Turk 



eys. 



By Mrs. S. A. McClellan. 




F AIjL, branches of poultry keeping, raising 
Uirlieys is perhaps Ihe most interesting, 
as well as the most profitable. We feel 
that we have accomplished something 
when we take a downy little poult weigh- 
ing only a few ounces, and by care and 
attention raise him up to be a strong bird that will tip the 
scaies at thirty pounds or more at less than a year old. I 
have heard of young males weighing much more thau this, 
but if mine reach thirty pounds without extra pushing or 
fattening I think I am doing pretty well. 

Of the several varieties the Bronze is at present the 
favorite, and justly so, it would seem, when we consider 
their many excellent qualities. The Bronze possess the hand- 
somest plumage, attain the largest size, take on fat readily, 
and being gentle aud docile in disposition, are easily con- 
trolled; while the young poults are healthy, hardy, grow 
rapidly and are easily raised. 

Pure-bred stock I would have by all means to begin 
with as they mature early, which is desirable for home use. 
as well as for market purposes, and if the strain be brought 
to anything like perfection, there is always a demand for 
young stock for breeding as well as for hatching. A fine 
specimen of Bronze sometimes scores as high as SSVz points' 
out of a possible 109. 

Although a great deal has been said about the weight 
of Bronze turkeys, yet when selecting the stock one should 
be guided nearly as much by the symmetry of the bird and 
the beauty of its plumage as by its weight or size. The 
body should be long and deepest at the center, with a full 
breast, broad back, stout thighs and shanks of moderate 
length. In young birds, the shanks are a dead black, but 
they grow lighter with age until they finally become a sort 
of pink or flesh color. 

TURKEYS NEED ROOM. 

No one should attempt to raise turkeys who has not 
sufficient space for them; for it is useless to attempt to raise 
turkeys in limited runs. This is where many poultry breed- 
ers make their mistake, and when failure meets them they 
put it down to every cause except the right one. It must 
be remembered that the turkey is really the last of our 
domestic fowls that has been brought from its wild state 
and placed under domestication. 

You must noL be afraid of work when you go into the 
poultry business, either with turkeys or chickens. It takes 
all the patience and perseverance possible. But turkeys 
will pay you well for your trouble, and when six weeks old 
the most of the work and danger are over and you will be 
proud of them, for after that they will be things of beauty 
and joy while they last. It is pleasanter to feed turkeys 
than chickens. They know when they have enough and can 
be satisfied with a reasonable amount; that is, all except 
the gobbler — he never stops eating as long as there is any 
food in sight 



A great deal has been said and written al)OUt turkeys 
still, to the uninitiated, raising turkeys is a great mystery — 
so much so in fact that after one or two futile attempts, 
many give up in despair. The scientific poultry raiser of 
course knows exactly how it is done, but the wife or 
daughter of the farmer in moderate circumstances can afford 
few of the conveniences which tend to lessen the labor and 
which are considered absolute necessities by the profes.sional 
poultry raiser. To be sure it requires a considerable amount 
of exercise to keep up wih a large flock of turkeys when 
they have the whole surface of the broad earth to range 
over, but then it is healthful exercise; it takes us out of 
doors into the wholesome fresh air, and sends us back to the 
house with glowing cheeks and a hearty appetite. 

The exact degree of restraint to be placed upon turkeys 
at laying time requires for its solution the nicest sort of 
judgment. If entirely left to themselves, the most secluded 
spot at the farthest limit of their range will probably be 
selected as a nesting place. Then sometimes they will con- 
ceal their nests scarcely a hundred yards away, and be so 
cunning about it, with their sudden appearances and dis- 
appearances, as to keep us in the dark for some time as to 
its whereabouts. 

If we knew that a hen would keep the same nest dur- 
ing the laying of one clutch of eggs, and that the crows 
or varmints would not find the eggs and destroy them, we 
might be more willing to humor her in regard to its location, 
even though it should cost us quite a lengthy walk in visit- 
ing them. (Sisters, did you ever think how near, in sweet 
communion you could come to God during those long walks 
in the early twilight, when all nature is bowing to the Di- 
vine will?) But the greater number of people err at the 
other extreme, and confine their turkeys to a close pen from 
sun up to sun down. 

Of the two methods the latter is to be avoided more than 
the former, as the hens thus kept in confinement not only 
produce a fewer number of eggs, but a larger per cent prove 
infertile. But there is in this as everything else a happy 
medium. Have a good-sized inclosure in a rather secluded 
place; make partly concealed nests of old boixes and barrels 
turned down, with a nice nest in them made of straw and 
leaves; shut the turkeys in every morning for two or three 
weeks before they commence laying, and most of the hens 
will willingly accept these nests. 

TURKEYS NOT HARD TO RAISE. 

While the turkeys are laying gather in the eggs every 
evening, leaving two or three hen eggs in the nest. There is 
little more time or labor expended in rearing a flock of sev- 
enty-five turkeys than so many chickens, and the result is 
much more satisfactory— turkeys being subject to fewer dis- 
eases and, barring accidents, one can usually succeed in rais- 
ing nearly every one hatched. 

If the hen lays in a suitable place for sitting do not 
remove her; but should you desire to set her somewhere else 



62 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



you can easily move her by letting her stay on the nest two 
or three days or until she becomes real broody; then after 
darlc sprinkle her with a good insect powder and gently 
move her to the new nest previously prepared for her and 
fasten her in. Then do not let her out for two or three days. 
Feed, water and watch her to see she goes back on the nest. 
It is best to keep her shut up for several days for fear she 
will come off and go to her old nest. After you» take her 
off several times and she goes back willingly you can leave 
the nest open, providing there is nothing to disturb her. 
Some hens stay so close to the nest as to scarcely come oft 
at all during the twenty-eight days. Hens that are not in- 
clined to come off or are shut up should be gently and 
quietly lifted off every third day and given a good feed of 
shelled corn and fresh water to drink. 

In setting turkeys do not give them too many eggs. If 
they are of good size fifteen is plenty. At the same time 
give nine to a domestic hen, and when hatched give all 
poults to the turkey hen. Turkey eggs usually hatch well 
an'l you will probably get twenty poults, which is enough 
for one turkey. 

Two days before time for them to hatch sprinkle the 
hen again with insect powder, working it well into her 
feathers. When she begins to hatch it is best to remove the 
little poults and all shells. Take the little downy things to 
the house and wrap them in warm flannel. After dark take 
them back and quietly slip them under the hen for the night. 
Should she be restless it would be best to remove most of 
them the second day. 

When she is ready to leave the nest I move them to 
what I call the turkey pen, which is made of boards twelve 
inches or more high. In size eight by twelve to sixteen feet 
is a good size for one hen. For the pen select a sunny spot 
with short green grass, and on high ground that naturally 
drains Itself. In one end have a large box or coop made 
of boards with a door that will fasten up close at the bottom 
so as not to leave a hole large enough for a little poult to 
get out, but give plenty of ventilation at top of coop. In the 
bottom of coop place a little straw, which can be removed 
when soiled and clean straw put in. 

In making the turkey pen be sure you do not leave a 
hole at the bottom large enough for a little turkey to crowd 
through, for the first few days it seems to be like an incuba- 
tor chick, does not know enough to stay with its mother, 
and if they get out of the pen they are liable to wander off 
and be lost. After I make my pens I take a spade and throw 
dirt up on the outside at every place where the boards do 
not fit down close to the ground. 

FEEDING YOVNC TURKEYS. 

Young turkeys need no food at all until the second day, 
or until they are from twenty-four to thirty-six hours old. 



Then I feed them light bread soaked in sweet milk. Feed 
five times a day and give them fresh water in a fountain, 
for little turkeys must not get wet. Should you have no 
small regular fountains, make one by taking an old tin can. 
Drive a nail through one side, near the top. (A few trials 
will teach you exactly where to make the hole.) Fill a can 
with water and turn it upside down in a saucer. The hen 
can scarcely drink from the saucer, but I set in an old tin 
can filled with water for her. 

When the poults are three or four days old, turn them 
out for an hour or two in the afternoon, providing the 
weather is suitable and the grass dry. Watch them to see 
that the hen does not rove too far with them. Should she 
be inclined to lead them oft, watch them awhile and 
then put them back in the pen and allow the hen to go out 
and in as she pleases. Do not turn them out when the grass 
is wet, as long as the footboard will keep the little ones in. 

When they are a week or two old I begin to feed them 
curd and corn bread softened with sweet milk; and if the 
weather is fine and they have good range three feeds a day 
will do them until they are large enough to go oft and stay 
all day, then a feed early in the morning and one at night 
to bring them home is all they need. Some let them go 
without any food, but I think they grow faster and get out 
of danger sooner to feed them. 

I feed bread and curd most of the time until they are 
able to eat whole corn, then give part bread. My turkeys 
are usually spoiled children. When I give them grain they 
won't eat much of it, but stretch up their necks and tell 
me they want what's in that pan. 

Never allow your turkeys to roost away from home. If 
they do not come, go after them, and they will generally 
soon come of their own accord, and when near home they 
will raise their little wings and fly to their feeding ground, 
for they are as glad to get home as children let loose from 
school and bring with them quite as good appetites. 

After they are a few weeks old do not put them up at 
night but let them roost out of doors in the open air. Tur- 
keys do not like to be housed. Just drive them near the 
house, and every night know exactly where they are roost- 
ing, so that should a hard rain or storm come up in the 
night you can go out and get them in. I have often gone 
out at such times with a lantern and picked them up. Nor 
did I always get them before the rain was on me. 

Never try to raise turkeys with a domestic hen. and en- 
deavor to keep them away from all other fowls on the farm. 
And do not neglect to watch for the lice, for they will soon 
kill the little poults. Dust often at night with insect powder. 
Keep crushed oyster shells before them, as well as other 
poultry. MRS. S. A. McCLBLL,AN. 






FEEDING AND CARING FOR POULTS, 



By Mrs. Julia A. Tapscotl. 



N THE early spring I watch my turkey hens and as 
soon as I find they are wanting a nest I put them up in 
a large house built entirely of logs, the cracks left open 
so they can get pure air just the same as if they were 
nut of doors. I put them up early of mornings and keep 
plenty of food, water and grit in the house for them. I 
keep them up until 5 o'clock in the evening and then turn 
them out for exercise, and after being put up a few mornings 
they will go to the house and wait for some one to open the 
door and let them in. I have nests made on the ground next 
to the wall and keep some chicken eggs in the nests for nest- 
eggg. I keep from ten to sixteen hens to one tom. 

I do not have any trouble in hunting turkey nests and 
losing the eggs by the crows. When the turkey hen goes 
to sitting I find the best way is to move her to some place 
where I can keep her shut up until she is satisfied. I set 
her on chicken eggs and put all the turkey eggs under gen- 
tle domestic hens, for they do not break them so badly. As 
soon as they begin to pip I take two or three and slip them 
under the turkey hen, let her hatch them out and she will 
then own the entire flock. As fast as they hatch out under 
the domestic hen I take them out of the nest and wrap them 
up in a flannel cloth in a basket, and keep them until they 
are about twenty-four hours old before I put them with the 
turkey hen or give them anything to eat. Then they are 
strong enough to keep out of the hen's way, and if she is 
gentle she will not mash them. 

I put from twenty to twenty-five little poults with one 
hen in a good tight-floored house. I feed them on milk curds 
and a little chopped lettuce and onions, with plenty of fine 
grit until they are two or three weeks old. I give them 
water in a very shallow pan and as soon as all have drunk I 
take the water away from them, for they love to play in 
the water and will soon drabble themselves.. I have a small 
yard fenced with plank around their houses, and I keep 
them in the yard until they are ten or twelve days old. I 
have grass in the yard and they pick the little tender shoots 



and seem to enjoy them greatly. When the weather is rainy 
and bad I keep them shut up in their houses. These houses 
have windows with screen wire and outside shutters, and 
if it is warm I open the shutters. 

When they are ten or twelve days old I turn them out 
and let them go where they please over the farm, but I call 
them up and feed them at noon every day. They soon learn 
to come up just at the same time every day to be fed. After 
they are two weeks old I feed them corn bread made of 
white meal, buttermilk, soda and eggs baked in the oven 
until thoroughly done. I let the cake get cold before feeding. 
If it gets too hard and dry to crumble up for the little poults 
soak it in sweet milk or water and squeeze dry. I chop up 
green onion tops twice a week in their food, and as soon as 
they are large enough to eat corn I feed shelled corn and 
wheat. I never allow them to roost from home when they 
are little. I drive them to their houses every night and 
they soon learn to come themselves. 

Just as soon as they are large enough to sit on a plank 
and roost at night I have trestles set in their houses and lay 
nanow strips of plank across. I set the poults all up on the 
planks and the old hens up with them. These trestles are 
two and one-half feet high, and the little fellows will soon 
learn to fly up on them. I keep them in their houses at 
night until there is no danger of their drowning, then let 
them roost on the planed fence. I sweep their house floor 
every day, sprinkle air-slaked lime all over the floor and 
sides and then sweep all the lime out. Once a week I sprin- 
kle the floor and walls with carbolic acid, and twice a week 
dust all the turkeys with insect powder until they are full 
feathered, then I dust them only once a week. 

This may seem to be a great deal of work, but I think I 
was well paid for my labor last year, as I raised over a hun- 
dred nice turkeys. I have never kept a tom three years, but I 
have kept hens until they were six years old. I find the older 
the hens the better mothers they make, and the little poults 
are larger and stronger. MRS. JULIA A. TAPSCOTT. 



THE HAPPY MEDIUM. 



By Stanley Williams. 



White Holland turkeys originated in Holland, from 
which they derived their name. Their plumage is snow 
white throughout, except the beard, which is jet black. 
The head and wattles are bright red, which makes the bird 
very attractive and much admired. They are very gentle 
in disposition and do not wander away from home like other 
breeds. Careful investigation shows that instances where 
a flock of this variety of turkeys failed to come home to 
roost are very rare. They are the most hardy turkey 
known, except the wild turkey, and they are equal to them. 
The hens are exceedingly prolific and have been known to 
lay as many as seventy eggs in one season when given 
good care and food. The little ones are the strongest and 
easiest to raise of all domestic turkeys. They are espec- 
ially adapted to small places, or where one has near neigh- 
bors. The quality of the flesh is sweet and tender and 
their feathers are more valuable for commercial purposes 



than those of other varieties. They mature early, and while 
they do not attain as great weight as some of the dark 
colored breeds at maturity, they are as large when six 
months old as the majority of turkeys, and larger than 
many of the so-called Bronze turkeys. They are a happy 
medium in the turkey line, as it is the medium sized 
"plump" birds that sell the highest in market. Being white 
in plumage, they have no dark pin feathers to show and- 
present a finer appearance when dressed than any other 
breed. The chicks are very rapid growers, and if given 
a good range and well fed during October and November 
they will weigh at December 1st, toms fifteen to eighteen 
pounds, hens from ten to twelve pounds. The standard 
weights of the White Holland turkeys are: Cock, twenty- 
six pounds; cockerel, sixteen pounds; hen, sixteen pounds; 
pullet, ten pounds. • 

STANLEY WILLIAMS. 



TURKEYS FOR PROFIT, 



Turkeys In Demand^Varletles^Enclose the Breeders— Fencing— Mating and Housing— Overfeeding— Late Hatched 

Turkeys— Green Food for Growth— Freeing From Lice Results of Line Breeding Supply 

Grit Observation and Care Necessary to Success. 



By Mrs. Charles Jones. 




URKKYS have been raised longer than the 
memory of those now living can trace and 
still the business is in its infancy. People 
are realizing each year that it is one of the 
most profitable crops of poultry that can be 
raised on a farm from a market standpoint. 
From the fanciers' outlook they are making such great 
strides in size, weight and plumage, and command such high 
prices that they are doubly profitable. 

If the exhibit of Bronze turkeys at the Chicago show 
was any criterion, the business of raising Bronze turkeys has 
reached a point that nearly eclipses all other departments 
of poultry raising. When one yearling torn will bring $50 
and a pair of young turkeys $75 it proves the value of the 




A Winner From the Yards of Mrs. Charles Jones. 

goods, and these were the prices asked and paid for some 
fine specimens at Chicago. Immediately breeders put up 
prices on eggs from 50 cents to one dollar apiece. From 
these facts one can safely conclude that the Bronze turkey 
business is booming, especially when the last year has seen 
more turkeys shipped to foreign countries than were ever 
sent before. The turkey has been basely slandered and has 
l)een considered to be about as stupid as a mule. I have 
never had any experience in trying to teach a mule to keep 
his hind feet on the ground when his best friend stood be- 
hind him, but I have taught turkeys to respect my wishes 
and stay on one plantation. 

Seeing a four-horse load of turkeys going to market gath- 
ered from four farms, I said, surely I must go and wake up 
Rip Van Winkle, so that he may see what the despised "Old 
Woman's hen business" is now. When he went to sleep 
about twelve hens and one rooster was the poultry equip- 
ment of a farm, and turkeys were wild in the forest. If per- 



chance a hunter brought one down for Christmas or Thanks- 
giving that was all the people of those days expected. 

The newsboys of Chicago were presented with over two 
thousand turkeys this season, and I really do not know 
which to pity most, the turkeys or the newsboys. At the 
mayor's banquet in Paris over 2,000 pounds of turkeys were 
consumed, and still the demand increases. The poultry busi- 
ness as Swift's poultry packing houses in Chicago promises 
to equal, if not exceed, the hog packing industry. 

As our population increases the great tracts of land 
used for grazing will be taken up into farms and the great 
droves of cattle now raised on them will be a thing of the 
past. Pork is not good for a steady diet, and the people will 
dsmand an immense number of turkeys, chickens, ducks and 
geese to meet the deficit caused by the lack of cattle. 

WHITES, BLACKS, BVEFS AI\ID REDS. 

I am -frequently asked how many varieties of turkeys 
we have bred. I have only bred the old-fashioned scrub and 
the Bronze. I prefer the Bronze to any variety I have ever 
seen, as it grows so very much larger, is so hardy and it is 
such a pleasure to have a flock of these brilliant beauties 
around. I think it is easy to get a good Bronze near to 
standard requirements in markings, brilliant plumage and 
weight, although there has been added pound after pound 
to the weight clause, and one has to get them almost as 
large as a calf to answer the requirements in weight. I 
think the weight is too high, as a turkey will shrink from 
one to two pounds while en route to the show. I have had 
them weighed in the show room where they have shown a 
shrinkage of over three pounds. It is a settled fact that 
the Bronze turkey matures slower than other varieties, as 
th°y grow until four years old. I think the Black turkey 
comes next as a desirable turkey; they nearly equal the 
Bronze in size and beauty. I breed the Bronze now for size 
and beauty as well as for their popularity. There is a great 
demand for them. The White Holland comes next in pop- 
ularity. They are liked by people who have small range, 
as they are what one may call a domestic turkey, not given 
to extensive wandering, and possess very little of the wild 
spirit. I am quite partial to white fowls, but on account of 
hardiness and great weight, as well as beautiful plumage, I 
prefer the Bronze. 

I once owned a trio of black turkeys for a short time 
In one of my orders for turkeys to go to Europe I had a 
call for a trio of Black turkeys and a trio of Buffs, and as 
I did not breed them I had to find some good enough to 
ship across the pond. I sent to a well known Ohio judge and 
he sent me a Black tom that had never been beaten in the 
show room, a pullet that took first premium at the Ohio 
state fair, and another equally as good. Well, that trio 
was so dazzlingly beautiful that it almost shook my alle- 
giance to the Bronze. If ever I should change my breed 
of turkeys it would be to take up the Black turkey. I also 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



6.- 



got a very fine trio of Buffs from a reliable breeder in our 
own state and those with the trio of the best of my Bronze 
birds made a shipment that any turkey breeder might be 
proud of. The honor dirt not all belong to me, however. 

I am in receipt of a very interesting letter from a lac'y 
in Ohio in regard to the Bourbon Red turkey. She has bred 
them only one year. Her torn and hen were both young 
and to that she attributes the weakness of the poults, but 
as only one died a natural death it goes to show they are 
quite hardy. They were very large when first hatched and 
very pretty. They are about as hardy as the Bronze wher 
raised under similar conditions, and make beautiful birds 
when grown. They are marked something like a peafowl, 
are very quiet and not much inclined to wander and want 
to be left entirely alone to attend strictly to their own 
business. My correspondent thinks that for a market fov>'l 
a cross of the Bronze and the Bourbon Red would give good 
results. 

If any one knows the origin of the Bourbon Red I should 
be glad to obtain a knowledge of the subject. 

IHA TING AND HOUSING. 

I am often asked which is the best way to mate tur- 
keys — young toms with hens or old toms with pullets. I 
like an old torn, but sometimes one suffers a serious loss 
among the hens, resulting from injury caused by a vigorous 
male. I always make cots for the spurs the same as a finger 
cot, and wire them on the legs with a fine copper wire. If 
the spur is very sharp we saw the sharp point off and cut 
the toe nails very blunt. I find this an indispensable treat- 
ment if one expects to escape loss. 

A correspondent asks how many turkeys she ought to 
keep, and how many hens and toms she should buy to begin 
breeding on forty acres of land. She is building a house tor 
them. I wrote and told her not to build a house for turkeys, 
an open shed is all they ever need. A high shed covered 
with prairie hay or anything that will keep out rain and sun. 
I think when the ever ruling hand made turkeys He made 
the sky their covering. I really do like an open shed for 
rainy or stormy days and when the terrible blizzards sweep 
over the country, but you might as well try to chain the 
lightning or hold a cyclone in the hollow of your hand as 
to attempt to make turkeys break the laws of nature that 
made a roost on the topmost branch of the tree an ideal 
place for them to spend a cold night. While we cuddle 
down in a warm bed, they are taking a constitutional on the 
tree top, swaying in the blast and they come down full of 
vigor and with an appetite that almost equals the ostrich. 
I never try to control them as to their quarters for the night 
unless we have a severe ice storm, or one of our terrible 
blizzards. The rest of the time they are left to "paddle their 
own canoe" at night. When the Creator put into turkeys 
the instinct to sleep in the open air He knew more about 
raising turkeys than I do. 

As to the number of birds my correspondent should be- 
gin with, I would under no circumstances get more than ten 
hens and one torn. I started with three thoroughbred hens 
and a tom, even though I had raised turkeys for some years 
before this. I always advise inquirers to begin upon a 
sm?.ll scale in any branch of poultry raising. One may 
work into the business and will not then lose the money 
invested, nor think the business is unprofitable. One turkey 
hen will lay two litters of eggs in a season, and this is all 
it is profitable to have her lay, for if she laid a third litter 
it would be too late to bother with them. She usually lays 
about thirty eggs in tw'o litters, sometimes more, somc-- 
times less. If this lady raises one hundred and fifty tur- 
keys from ten hens she will be doing well, as the eggs will 
not all hatch and the poults will not all live. There are 



always some that are weak when first hatched. One hun- 
dred and fifty turkeys will be as many as should be kept 
on forty acres, for they are not like chickens, they must 
have range and must hunt for the larger portion of their 
food if it is desired to raise them to perfection in size, vigor 
and plumage, and of course it is. 

Turkeys raised on a large range are best to use as breed- 
ers, as they develop on nature's plan — bone, muscle and 
frame, and that is what we want instead of heavy weights 
and small frames. Some people think weight is the criterion 
of excellence in turkeys. I wish I could take them out with 
me in my morning rambles and show them the points of ex- 
cellence my birds are developing by roving around and pick- 
ing up the food that nature contributes so lavishly for their 
benefit. The large, long legs and well proportioned bodies 
with the morning sun glancing from their brilliant plumage 
make a sight worth seeing. Exercise and the right kind of 
diet go a long way towards making a perfect turkey. 

The Bronze turkey does not develop until four years 
old, and it stands to reason that a bird which develops slow- 
ly and healthily will make a better breeder and produce 
healthier and larger stock than those which are pushed to 
maturity, and which attain great weights simply by over- 
feeding and lack of exercise. First secure good health and 
a large frame, then let nature put on weight at maturity. 
If this course were followed we would not hear so much 
about diseases and non-success in raising turkeys. They 
were created for a special purpose and intended to be 
healthy, and when we undertake to run against nature there 
is war at once and we have to pay the penalty. 

YARDING AND TRAINING TURKEYS. 

I raise turkeys and like the business and attribute much 
of my success to keeping my turkeys yarded through the 
breeding season. People generally think it a great expense 
to build a fence that will keep turkeys in, though I do not 
find it so. A three-foot woven wire fence with barbed wire 
above to make the fence four or five feet high will keep 
them confined if the flight feathers of one wing are cut. I 
keep the young turkeys yarded in the same yard until they 
are six weeks or two months old, which makes it conven- 
ient to protect the young poults from the wet and I can 
look them over once a week for lice, and never have to b;' 
hunting up my turkeys. 

People ask me if they are not hard to raise. I raise 
a larger per cent of those hatched than I do of chickens. 
For the last two years I have raised over 95 per cent of all 
turkeys hatched. 

I have found that fifty turkeys in a yard or field are 
enough to do well. If you keep more than that together they 
are apt to pile in together and smother after they are about 
a month old. When I get a flock of fifty I start another 
drove in another field. I set four or five turkey hens and 
at the same time give to domestic hens as many turkey eggs 
as I think the turkeys can take care of. If possible I sot 
an incubator with chicken eggs. When they all hatch I 
give the turkeys all the poults and the domestic hens all the 
Incubator chicks, and that makes business lively all around, 
and keeps me very busy. 

I raise from three different flocks of turkeys, ten hens 
and one tom, in each flock. We have from one acre to three 
acres fenced in with a three-foot wire netting, three-inch 
mesh, with barbed wire at the top, making the fence five 
feet high. Turkeys will never try to fly over a barbed wire 
fence. They will crawl under if the wires are not close 
together, but they will never try to fly over it. If they ever 
attempt it they are almost sure to run a barb through their 
foot and one experience of that kind is generally enough. 
I have had them caught that way and hang until dead. I 



66 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



use the breeding yards for the young turkeys until they are 
large enough to drive out on the range, putting fifty in 
each yard. At six weeks or two months they are driven 
onto their summer range, driving them home at night un- 
til they have learned the trick of coming home to roost. 
There is considerable work getting them started to run out 
on the range and come home at night. If you allow them to 
run at large and stay out at night they will wander away 
to neighhors and sometimes go miles from home, but if 
they are driven home nightly for a week or two they will 
soon come home of their own accord, and then your work 
in the turkey yard is nearly over, as they can take care of 
themselves, only you must watch that they do not forgot 
to come home. 

Turkeys like a large range as they grow older, but while 
young, one to three acres makes plenty of range. You will 
soon find out when they get dissatisfied with their quar- 
ters, as they will crawl out or fly into your garden or yard, 
showing that they are anxious to start on their foraging 
expeditions. If the hay and oats are cut so that they can 
gei around without trampling things down, or finding loo 
much to hide in, we turn them out. 

Turkeys can be made to go almost anywhere their 
owner wants them to by driving them to the farthest fields 
when they are first started out, but they must be brought 
home nights until they learn to come home. I bought a tel- 
escope to save steps and I find it a very great help, espec- 
ially as I have to watch my turkeys on account of the rail- 
road track. In the early dry part of the season I had a 
great deal of trouble with my turkeys wandering so far that 
they could not get back at night. We discovered that they 
invariably went where they found water last year, and we 
concluded it was water they were after, so we took large 
dishes and put out where we wanted them to run, and then 
they only went about one-half mile away and stayed on our 
own place. Their going where they found water last year 
shows that turkeys have memories. I believe animals have 
much more intelligence than we give them credit for. Only 
their language and way of giving expression to their wants 
is all Greek to us. 

To show how turkeys measure time our turkeys invar- 
iably start for the house In time to reach the west edge of 
the pasture at four o'clock, and it takes them until about 
sundown to reach the house near where they roost. Now, 
how can they tell the time of day, which they seem to do 
as well as we do? 

I did not learn in a day nor in a year the art of raising 
nearly all the turkeys hatched, nor until I had lost hun- 
dreds each year, I acting as pall bearer and chief mourner, 
and I assure you I filled the position of mourner admirably, 
weeping copiously over buried hopes (and those hopes were 
of a well filled purse). 

I hope I shall not have to meet those turkeys in the 
next world and be held accountable for my unpardonable 
ignorance, but perhaps by sincerely repenting my past mis- 
takes the sin of ignorance will be forgiven me. If I can 
be of any help to those who raise $50 and $75 turkeys it may 
help condone the past. May our great American Thanks- 
giving bird soar still higher and grow bigger and reach the 
thousand-dollar mark. He is sure to have his praises sung 
in foreign tongues, and the fun of it all is, how is he ever 
with his stupid brain going to learn those foreign languages, 
and when they call him to breakfast, dinner and supper, 
how will he know what it all means? 

INDIGESTION. 

A turkey grows very fast and has an appetite like an 
ostrich, but without an ostrich's digestive ability. As the 
natural way for a turkey to eat is to pick up a grain here 



and there in such a manner as to give the digestive organs 
a grain at a time to digest, then the digestive mill grinds 
slowly without being clogged. This method of feeding keeps 
up a steady circulation and the turkey keeps growing larger 
and stronger, the digestive organs being developed as the 
turkey grows, and they are therefore better able to do their 
work when more food is required to be digested to t)uild 
up a large frame. On the other hand, when the poults 
are overfed, the machinery is clogged and there is a gen- 
eral smash-up, the effect being similar to that caused by 
throwing a bushel of corn into a corn sheller. The machine 
will do its work all right it fed slowly, so will a turkey's 
digestive organs. A turkey is a voracious eater and will 
eat as often as you feed it. 

There are other causes that will bring death with very 
nearly the same symptoms. One is lice and one is lack of 
sharp grit. A turkey cannot grind its food without grit any 
more than a miller can grind wheat without millstones; 
we might as well try to chew our food without teeth. 

A neighbor told me that her turkeys were dying and I 
sent her word to come and get some Mica Crystal Grit an.l 
give them, as I knew she was not giving them any grit. I 
advised her to put a little in the food every morning. Shi 
did so and her turkeys are no longer dying. It was the 
absence of sharp grit that caused them to die. 

I have adopted a treatment for turkeys and chicks that 
has proved a great success. If I see them act as though they 
were not feeling well I give a calomel pill. These I buy 
from the druggist, each pill to contain a tenth of a grain 
of calomel. I give the jjills one a day for three days, then 
follow with quinine pills twice a day until the birds arc 
well. If noticed and treated when first they show symp- 
toms of not being well I have never failed to effect a cure. 
The calomel stirs up the liver and gets it to work, av 
most cases of sickness among poultry commence with a 
disordered liver. After the system has had a thorough 
cleansing the quinine acts as tonic to build the birds 
up and gives them appetites, then nature does the rest. By 
this course of trealmen'c you ward off what might termi- 
nate in serious sickness and death. I have used similar 
treatment in the human family and saved a great many doc- 
tor's bills, to say nothing of long spells of sickness and 
suffering. 

OVERFEEDING CAUSES DEATH. 

Overfeeding is a common cause of loss in young tur- 
keys. I feed only three times a day for the good reason 
that I could not possibly find time to feed oftener with the 
large number I raise. I find it sufficient. They take more 
exercise if fed less, then when they are fed they are hungry. 
The time between feeding, too, allows the food to digest 
and gives the digestive organs a little rest. 

I feed more green food than most people do, as I find it 
has the same effect on turkeys that it has on ducks. It pro- 
duces a large frame. I chop dandelion leaves for them in 
the morning and at night chop up onions, tops and all. I 
notice there is never a scrap of the green food left when 
they are through eating. They make rapid growth when fed 
this way, besides it is a cheap way to feed them. 

I give a little sharp grit in their food every morning. 
I use grit and oyster shell, the larger part grit, as turkeys 
to be healthy must have it. I have lost hundreds of turkeys 
I know by not having plenty of grit with which to grind 
their food. If they get a little sharp grit in their food 
every morning it keeps their grinding apparatus in perfect 
order. Very young turkeys do not find the grit of their own 
accord. and as they grow older they are liable to gorge them- 
selves with the grit as soon as they discover its use, thereby 
clogging their digestive organs, while a small quantity 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



67 



in their food each morning keeps them in excellent condi- 
tion. 

I have my little poults so they will fly over a board a 
foot high when but a week old. There are more turkeys 
killed by overfeeding and lice and want of grit than all 
other things combined. If you do not keep them near the 
house so that you can run them under cover when a heavy 
storm comes up you are liable to lose a large per cent. I 
find a large shed with a board floor is fine to run them in in 
case of sudden storms. Of course you must stay close at 
home to meet all these emergencies. It is not more coa- 
finiug than other occupations. The merchant, lawyer, doc- 
tor, mechanic and farmer have to confine themselves closely 
to business, and the poultry raiser, whether for the fancy or 
market, must make it a business and work on business prin- 
ciples. 

EVILS FROM LACK OF EXERCISE. 

I learned something about exercise for very young tur- 
keys this year. I hatched some under hens quite early; 
it was wet and cold and of the two evils I decided I would 
not turn them out to run through the day, so I kept them 
cooped a week or more. When I went to feed them I found 
one that did not seem to have the use of its left side. I 
thought it had got hurt in some way and would soon be 
all right. It got no better and I still kept them cooped, 
as it was so cold and wet; then another got that way. They 
would push themselves around with their right foot as they 
lay on their left side. When the third one was taken sick 
I decided it was paralysis of the left side, brought on by lack 
cf exercise, and so I turned them out. Those that had be-?u 
affected died. It was still cold and wet when my other tur- 
keys began to hatch, and I kept the first lot of chicks cooped 
perhaps five days, when one of them acted in the same way 
as the early hatched birds. I turned them out to run through 
the day and that was the last of it. This convinced me that 
it was paralysis brought on by lack of exercise. The pecu- 
liar iiait of it was tuat it was always the left side affected. 
My turkeys are making rapid growth out on the range. 
I feed them a little grain when they come up at night, and 
we have such quantities of apples that I put the small ones 
in a box and chop them up with the spade and feed them 
to all the poultry, and they do enjoy the cool juice these 
hot, dry days, and the apples keep them in such good health 
and are so much better for them than green food or even 
gras.'-rhoppers exclusively. 

The only road to success with turkeys is to keep them 
healthy. Give them plenty of exercise, commencing to let 
them run thiough the middle of the day at three or four 
days eld; keep the lice off and give a little grit in their 
food every morning, with good, clean water to drink and 
they will have very few diseases. Exercise they must have, 
but very young turkeys can have sufficient exercise on an 
acre or two, and a great many young turkeys can bs saved 
by enjoying this exercise under your control. Coop at night 
until they begin to want to roost. 

PONCniNC THE POULTS. 

I always mark my young poults when I put them out on 
the range, as otherwise they would be forgotten or neglect- 
ed. With care there will be found web enough to allow a 
good mark and it will not grow together if, as sometimes is 
the case, you cut into the edge of the web. It will do no 
harm and will always show the mark. It is different with 
ducks, the mark will grow together if made in the edge 
of the web, but if several punch marks are made you can 
always see the scars, as the webs cf their feet are very trans- 
parent. Sometimes I make so large a hole in a duck's foot 
tliat it does not grow together and I often find them with 



a weed run through the hole. In their efforts to release 
themselves they get twisted and hang there until they die if 
not released. 

PULLING WINC FEATHERS. 

I am asked if I pull the. wing feathers of sick poults to 
improve their health, and I reply — No, not to improve their 
health, but to prevent too much strength being taken from 
their systems by the extreme growth of flight feathers. 1 
usually pull the first flight feathers on the wing when the 
turkeys are from three to six days old, as at that time they 
come out so easily that it almost seems as if nature in- 
tended those feathers to be pulled. Sometimes I cannot get 
the time to attend to it, and I notice the quill feathers are 
making such rapid growth that they hang down, almost 
drag, and the turkeys appear much weaker than those that 
have had their feathers pulled; after this period, too, they 
are much harder to pull and the poults have lost all the 
strength that it took to grow them. They should be pulled 
almost as soon as they start to grow, then your turkeys will 
put growth into the body and the other feathers. This 
greatly increases our chance of success. 

A thought was suggested at the last Chicago Show. Does 
the second growth of flight feathers make as finely marked 
a wing as the first, or is the reverse the case? I had never 
thought of it in that light before and shall experiment this 
summer and let the readers know. This much I do know 
after years of experience, the little turkeys certainly 
aril stronger and stand a better chance of living if 
the first flight feathers are pulled . when they are from 
three to four days old, and they come out so easily 
at this time that it has no evil effect. 

LICE AND MITE DESTROrERS. 

Another correspondent asked about carbolineum. wish- 
ing to know if it is the same as carbolineum avenarius. It 
is the same article. It was originally manufactured in 
Germany and sent over to this country in barrels. Some 
claim it is still made there, but I am of the opinion that 
what we use is an American product. Its original use was 
as a wood preservative for painting fence posts where they 
are set in the ground. It is claimed that if posts for corn 
cribs are painted with it, it will keep rats out of the crib, 
although I have heard this contradicted. She asks if it is 
dangerous to use. The only danger is, it will cause the 
fa.:e and hands to swell if it is used in strong sunlight. 
She also asks if it is lasting in its effects on mites and lice. 
It is a wood preservative and penetrates right through an 
inch board in a very few minutes, and it is there to stay so 
long as the board lasts. For this reason it has been found to 
be one of the best preventives of lice and mites that is 
known. I gave it enough of a trial to know it will do all 
that is claimed for it. I painted all my turkey and chicken 
coops with it and never had healthier birds. I painted my 
coops only once. It costs ninety cents a gallon. I painted 
all perches and Intend to spray my houses with it, as it is 
not expensive when used with a fine sprayer, such as can 
be bought for $1. 

However, T do not trust entirely to any one thing. I 
pa'nt a box, which I keep for the purpose, with Lee's Lice 
Killer, and put turkeys and chirks in it for an hour or 
two, leaving sufficient provision for fresh air. I also use 
Lambert's Death to Lice on the little chicks and turkeys. 
Whether or not carbolineum avenarius or Lee's Lice Killer 
is dangerous to use on old fowls in the way recommended 
I cannot say, but there is one thing certain, it will not 
poison them. Any strong insecticide will kill little tur- 
keys or chickens if they are shut into a box which is painted 
with it and allowed no fresh air. This I know by sad ex- 
perience. For spraying houses and painting perches I pre- 



68 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



fer the carbolineum, but I like Lee's best for painting a 
bos in which to place the birds. I use Lambert's Death to 
Lice for the very young birds. 

DIARRHOEA AND LICE. 

A lady wrote that she hatched sixty-six little turkeys 
and had only ten left. Her turkeys had a diarrhoea, a thin 
yellowish discharge. This might be from lack of grit. She 
said she greased them once a week for lice. Too much 
grease will kill turkeys. I only grease their heads a little 
for the large headlice, and diist them with Lambert's Death 
to Lice. Most of the lice will be found between the guill 
feathers, below the vent, and on large turkeys on the 
thighs. 

TINCTURE OF IODINE FOR LICE. 

I have been in the habit of using tincture of iodine for 
lice. I take a feather (but intend getting a small brush) 
and brush the top of the head and across the quills of the 
wing feathers, under the wings, and the fluff below the vent 
with the tincture of iodine. It is a fact that I have proved 
time and again that those treated with iodine for lice out- 
grew those treated with other remedies, the only objection 
being the e-xpense, but if one will send and get a large bottle 
at wholesale price it will not be expensive. 

When turkeys are making very rapid growth, I find 
the lice are making rapid growth also. When I take the 
old turkey off the nest I paint a box with lice killer, put 
her in and leave her for two hours. I do not shut her in 
an air tight compartment, only close enough for the lice 
killer to thoroughly fumigate her feathers. This kills all 
the lice and nits. I grease the heads of the little turkeys 
to destroy the large head lice; I also dust them thoroughly 
with Lambert's Death to Lice and paint their coops with 
carbolineum, but with all the precautions I find I must look 
over them once a week for lice. One of the most essential 
things during July is to keep the turkeys free from lice. 

The first of July generally ends the turkey egg business. 
Occasionally turkeys lay a third clutch of eggs after that 
time, but I never consider them of much value, as they do 
not hatch well and the young turkeys never grow very 
large. I remember one exception to that rule. I had a 
brood of young turkeys come off about the first of August, 
and a pullet from that flock weighed sixteen pounds on the 
10th of December. I took first premium with her at Dixon, 
III., before the weight was raised in the standard. That 
was one pound above standard weight on a pullet ten days 
over four months old. 

The work for August in the turkey yard is very light as 
the turkeys are, or should be, out on the range on farms. 
I only feed them a little in the morning so that they may 
be induced to run out in search of food, and a little at night 
to get them to come home. After they have started out, all 
I have to do is to bring them home at night and keep on 
the watch for lice. They go through a corn field and I have 
noticed the old turkey and young ones stop and wallow in 
the loose dirt to dust themselves, so I hardly ever have 
much trouble with lice when they are out on the range. 

In November I have watched them with a great deal of 
interest to see how they make up their bill of fare for 
breakfast. They work lively, for they have voracious ap- 
petites and have nearly cleared the place of grass- 
hoppers. Now they make their breakfast of weeds or grass 
seeds with occasionally oats that have been left lying on 
the ground. I notice as the fall advances they spend a lot 
of time in the corn field, picking corn from ears that have 
been blown down. 

The following is a good story, although I do not vouch 
for its truthfulness: A farmer in Kansas has started a 



novel plan, based upon the prevalence of grasshoppers. He 
has about one thousand turkeys. After his neighbors saw 
the way his fields were cleared of grasshoppers they pro- 
posed hiring one hundred turkeys by the day to eat their 
grasshoppers, so he divided them into flocks of one hun- 
dred and hired them out at $2.50 per one hundred for a 
day's work, which made $25 income a day for the use of one 
thousand turkeys, and what turkeys those turkeys will be 
this fall. This of course settles the grasshopper question 
in Kansas and Nebraska. It they can settle the rainfall 
question as easily, the two states will never hold the emi- 
gration that will rush there. 

INBREEDING AND NEED OF RANGE. 

Turkeys deteriorate quicker by inbreeding than any 
other animal. Inbreeding indiscriminately for a long time 
weakens their constitutions. Turkeys, like horses, in their 
wild state, elected their leaders, or rather the leaders elect- 
ed themselves by their prowess. When an old leader began 
to show signs of feebleness a young turkey torn challenged 
him to mortal combat. It the old chief was equal to the 
combat the young aspirant was compelled to fall back to the 
rear or remain where he fell. When the old chief showed 
renewed signs of feebleness another young aspirant for 
royal honors stepped out of the ranks and the old tom rarely 
came off conquerer. One of our hunters who goes west every 
year to hunt has often told me of seeing the footprints of 
an enormous wild turkey that he had tracked and had oc- 
casionally got a glimpse of. He described him as being as 
large as a calf. That old tom had evidently ruled supreme 
for many years and had grown too smart to be caught 
napping, so the hunter could never get a shot at him. Tur- 
keys in their wild state range in large flocks, but when 
they are domesticated it is necessary to keep them in 
small flocks. I think eighty acres little enough range for 
150 turkeys. They could be bred in and left to run in 
flocks of three hundred it they had a range of three hun- 
dred acres. The reason large flocks cannot be kept on small 
range is that they do not find sufficient insects and the thou- 
sand other things that they pick up to make their bill of 
fare. Fifty can be kept on from one to three acres until 
they are six weeks or two months old, then one Just simply 
cannot keep them in a small enclosure, as they will crawl 
under or through or get out some other way, for they are 
growing fast and must have what nature demands. I al- 
ways make a virtue of necessity and turn them out on the 
range. 

I change males every year. I do not go out of the strain 
I am breeding, but take another branch of the same line 
of blood, and have found that I do not impair their vigor 
in the least, but am building up strong, healthy birds with 
plumage that for years has kept my whole flock above a 
score of 93, and that in a flock of one hundred and fifty 
birds. Last year 94 was the lowest. While I have improved 
them in shape and plumage I do not flnd one sick turkey 
in twenty-five throughout the season. 

LINE BREEDING. 

At the great Chicago show just passed two things were 
very strongly impressed on my mind; one was strain or line- 
breeding of turkeys. The two leading strains exhibited there 
have been line bred to my certain knowledge; one at least 
ten or twelve years (perhaps longer, but I am speaking of 
what I know), the other from information gained in differ- 
ent ways I am led to believe has been line bred the same 
length of tim.e. They have formed two distinct types; both 
strains very large birds and beautifully bronzed, but with 
this difference in color of plumage— in one strain the bronze 
or gold band across tail coverts, and in fact throughout the 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



(lit 



whole plumage was a greenish golden color; in the other it 
was just the color of gold without the gi-eeuish hue. From 
wluit I liiiow these two strains have won most of the premi- 
ums in our leading shows from Madison Square to Chicago. 
Upon comparing the plumage after the premiums were 
awarded the exhibitors were convinced that the birds rep- 
rosGuted two distinct species of the same bird. The strain 
that had the pure gold color had the gold baud the entire 
length of the back. This w^as absent in the other strain. 

The prevailing idea in looking over the Chicago show 
was that the old avoirdupois way of mixing blood was out 
of date, and if we expect to get to the front, the blood must 
be weighed by apothecary weight, or better still, on the al- 
chemist's scales, although the alchemist, I believe, has never 
been able to brew in his caldron ingredients that turned out 
gold. One breeder proved beyond a doubt that he could 
put a clear, even gold band on Bronze turkeys, and the in- 
ference is that he has been for years using the alchemist 
scales to reach this much to be desired point of excellence. 

The Bronze Turkey Club had an enthusiastic meeting; 
elected new officers and decided to push the Bronze turkey 
interest strongly to the front by every means in their power. 
If the exhibits of Bronze turkeys continue to grow I am 



afraid there will have to be erected a new Coliseum for the 
turkey exhibit alone. 

A member of a turkey club in Kansas thinks the Bronze 
Turkey Club a little loo exclusive in not fostering all kinds 
of turkeys. I think it a good idea for each variety to be 
represented by a club, as variety is the spice of life. If we 
all bred Plymouth Rocks and there was only one breed and 
one club, the poultry business would be tame and we would 
lose our incentive to strive for our ideal in the variety that 
met our fancy. Now if the admirers and breeders of each 
variety of turkeys were to organize a club to push the in- 
terest of their particular breed, to look up their origin and 
write up the good qualities that commend them to breeders 
the turkey luisiness would be pushed to the front in a way 
that could not be accomplished by an indiscriminate pushing 
of all varieties combined. 

1 think there will be more turkeys raised in the future, 
as they are most profitable poultry and when sold on the 
market for Thanksgiving Day cost little to raise, besides 
being a benefit to the farmer in eating insects and weed 
seeds. I wish turkey raisers the best of success in matur- 
ing their succeeding crops of turkeys. 

MRS. CHARLES JONES. 




Bronze Turkeys on the farm of Mr. Chas. McClai/e. 




^ 






ooiv/v-ro-04rf WH/rc Holland turkeys By sewfll. 



WHITE HOLLAND TURKEYS, 



Beautiful In Shape and Chaste In Color, They Form an Excellent Foil for the Brilliant flues of the Bronze Variety 
While Their Many Excellent Qualities Make Them Worthy Rivals. 



By Mr. John R. Carbee. 




EARS ago we raised only the common turkeys 
and we counted ourselves among the lucky ones 
if we, or rather I should say the old lurkey 
hens, raised sixteen or twenty a year. If the 
ii'tej^gj^.l©' young turkeys weighed when dressed in No- 
vember eight or ten pounds they had done well. Along 
about 1890 I developed a severe case of "poultry fever." I 
ha»re been a reader of the Reliable Poultry Journal ever 
since it came into existence. I have a complete 
file of it down to date, which fact is explained when 
I say that I consider it the leader among poultry papers. 

I also read other poultry and farm papers, and soon 
I was convinced that better poultry and turkeys ought to be 
raised on farms and that turkeys could be managed so that 
there should be good profit in 
them. Hunters were killing our 
common turkeys for wild ones 
because they wandered so far 
from home, thereby causing us 
considerable vexation and loss. 

We never had seen a pure 
white turkey, but we read 
about their gentleness and that 
they did not roam like the 
other varieties. So we sold all 
our common ones and pur- 
chased a trio of White Hollaud 
turkeys from an R. P. J. ad- 
vertiser, paying $7.50 for them 
and $2 expressage — which seemed a big price then. Since 
then we have paid more than that for a single bird. These 
first birds were rather small, though pretty. Up to this time 
I never had seen a standard, but I soon bought one and 
learned that my birds were under weight, and feed them 
how I would, I could not get that trio up to standard 
weight. 

I soon learned where I could get large White Holland 
turkeys, and I bought some more, still keeping the little, 
plump hens. The next season the young poults were larger 
than their mothers — the result of using a large tom. The 
results have been about the same whether I used a large 
young tom or an older bird, provided the young males were 
big boned, blocky fellows mated to good blocky hens or pul- 
lets. Still, I prefer a tom from two to five years old. I 
wish to state here that when I began breeding this variety 
of turkeys the toms at their best weighed only sixteen 
pounds and the pullets and hens eight to ten pounds, but 
during the past three or four years, by following my own 
rules of mating as given here, my turkeys have doubled 
these weights, so that now my young toms and pullets weigh 
from fifteen to twenty-four pounds. 

I use both pullets and hens as breeders, though I am 
careful to select the best shaped ones — those that are blocky 
and in first class health. The first eggs that are laid are 




A Flock ol While Hollands, the Property of 
Mr. John R. Garbee. 



given to domestic hens (eight or ten to each hen) or are 
put in an incubator. We get successful hatches either way, 
but we never have had success when we put the poults in 
a brooder. It may be the fault of this particular make of 
brooder, as I never have thought well of it, though it is 
a high priced one. So we give the poults to hens. Now, 
it is easy enough to hatch the poults, the main trouble is 
to raise them. I am tree to confess I do not know it all, 
but some things I have learned from experience. I know I 
have lost more poults from lice, overfeeding and chilling 
than from all other causes combined. Lice are the poults' 
worst enemies, and next they suffer from overfeeding. Our 
rule for feeding chicks is "any sound, wholesome food, fed 
a little at a time." This rule applied to poults works equal- 
ly well. We are most success- 
ful when the weather is fair 
and the food is given to them 
three times a day, and not 
faster than it could be digest- 
ed. We find cottage cheese is 
good for them and they like it, 
but judgment must be used in 
feeding it. I repeat that any 
clean, wholesome food fed in 
moderation is good for them. 
We find a varied diet — corn 
bread, cracked corn, wheat, 
chopped vegetables, table 
scraps, even corn dough, occa- 
sionally — works all right, while some breeders claim success 
on one straight diet. 

After the second and third clutches of eggs are laid 
we set the turkey hens. We always prefer to move them 
to a suitable coop or barrel nest in the yard or near a poul- 
try house, so they can be protected and cared for better. 
They can be moved with but little trouble when broody. 
They are confined to the nest for a few days by a slat coop, 
after that they get off and on at will, food and fresh water 
being kept near them. Remember always that lice are the 
great drawback to successful turkey raising, and try to 
have your sitting hen absolutely free from lice, mites or 
jiggers when the eggs hatch, and then keep her free. Watch 
the poults, too, and do not lef them suffer from lice. A 
clean coop and pure water are essential to success. 

Do not overfeed nor underfeed either. Provide a com- 
fortable place for the hen and poults, so that the latter 
may not get unduly chilled, and give the hen all the food 
she will eat, so she will not be restless, but put her food 
out of reach of the poults. Note how the latter will grow 
with this care. By the time they are feathered and large 
enough to roam they will be but little care and they will 
get a large share of their food from the fields, but if you 
follow the method I have outlined they will always come 
home for supper and will be very gentle. 



ADVOCATES WHITE HOLLAND TURKEYS. 



Their Beauty and Market Qualifications Make It Both Pleasant and Profitable to Raise' Them— Preferred Weight 

of Turkeys Inbreeding— Black Ticking on Feathers. 



By Mr. J. A. Leland. 



FTER five years of experience with White 
Holland Turkeys I have come to the con- 
clusion that there is no better variety for 
beauty and utility. The standard weight 
for adult toms is twenty-six pounds, for 
adult hens sixteen pounds, for young toms 
sixteen pounds, and young hens ten pounds. These weights 




shanks should be bright pink or flesh color, the former much 
to be preferred from a beauty standpoint, and rather large 
feet. My turkeys are never housed, nor should they be, 
except for convenience in handling, but we consider it best 
to have them roost some place sheltered from severe winds 
and storms. 

I would clip the flight feathers of one wing so that an 




White Hollands, as Bred by Mr. J. A. Leland. 



are often exceeded, but not as a rule to the advantage of 
the breed, although the majority of fanciers try to produce 
the heaviest birds possible for show purposes. In our ex- 
perience young stock must reach these weights when about 
six months old if they ever attain standard weight when 
mature. Very heavy specimens are not prolific breeders 
and stock weighing standard in breeding condition is gen- 
ei'ally to be preferred. 

Inbreeding is a thing that turkeys cannot stand, there- 
fore, it is imperative that new blood be obtained each year 
if we wish to raise a large number of hardy, heavy boned 
fowls that will top either the market or show room. As 
to color I have never seen a White Holland turkey that did 
not show some black ticking in its plumage during some 
period of its life. However, there is a great difference in 
specimens in this respect and we should breed from stock 
as free from this fault as possible, if we ever expect to cor- 
rect it. We believe an ideal White Holland should have a 
vei-y full, round body (an egg with large end forward gives 
a good idea), neck of good length, rather long tail and 
pure white plumage. They should have stout legs, the 



ordinary five-foot fence that they could not get through 
nor under, would confine them. 

We would not consider it profitable to raise large num- 
bers of turkeys in small enclosures as they require a large 
range, where they obtain the greater part of their food at 
no cost. If all food were bought the cost of production 
would be too great and turkeys do not thrive in close con- 
finement. 

About ine middle of March we place boxes and barrels 
for nests in out of the way places about the farm buildings. 
The hens find them and soon begin to lay. If turkeys are 
noL furnished suitable nests they are apt to choose them in 
places exposed to crows and vermin. A crow will watch 
a hen half a day to get an egg and generally finds the nest, 
while I have found hens dead on their nests, killed by minks 
or skunks. If their first clutch is taken away they will lay 
another and sometimes a third. The broody hens should be 
confined a few days if their eggs are taken, as they some- 
times will sit on their nests all the rest of the summer and 
may die while molting in the fall. It is often a good plan 
to set the first clutch under domestic hens, as the conditions 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



73 



in eaily spring are frequently unfavorable to outdoor incu- 
bation, and these hens are more easily handled in confine- 
ment. It is best Lo let the turkey hatch her second laying, 
as the third comes too late, if at all, and early hatched 
turkeys are most desirable. 

BREEDERS AND POULTS. 

Ordinarily I mate six to twelve hens with a tom and 
find the eggs are very fertile, but I think that as many as 
twenty might safely be mated to one male. Only one tom 
should run with the flock during the breeding season, but 
it is well to keep an extra one to use in case of accident. 

My breeders have the run of the farm and get only what 
they pick up about the buildings, which amounts to con- 
siderable in winter, but to almost none when good weather 
comes and then they glean the bulk of their food in the 
fields. Turkey eggs are very fertile and hatch in twenty- 
eight days. At hatching time the hen should be closely 
watched and, if necessary, the poults taken away when 
dry until all are hatched in order that she shall not leave 
the nest with them and so chill the other eggs. 

During incubation and at hatching time the hen should 
be frequently dusted with some good insect powder, so you 
may be sure she is free from lice, which, with filth and 
dampness, are the worst enemies of young fowls. Should 
this be neglected and the poults become infested, a mixture 
of kerosene and laid — just a few drops of the former, as 
it is so strong, will usually rid them of the nuisance. Apply 
it around the head, under the wings and about the vent. 

After the poults are hatched place a coop with a good 
roof and slatved end over the hen. This will allow the poults 
to range about, but keeps the mother from tiring them out 
or leading them through the wet grass. When the dew has 
dried the hen may be given her liberty, but should be care- 
fully watched and driven to her coop in the evening, or in 
case of showers. These coops should be moved each day, 
so that the young will roost on clean ground. The first 
feed may consist of infertile eggs boiled hard and chopped 
fine, or a little- cracked grain — oats or wheat preferred. A 
mixture of coarsely chopped or ground grains with a little 
millet should be fed until they are from four to six weeks 
old, when they will be able to eat whole grain. From now 
on, in good weather, they will need only a little grain in 
the evening, which will serve to bring them home at night 
and keep them tame. They will get their food in the fields 
until frost comes, after that they should be fed all the corn 
they will eat to prepare them for market. 



MARKETING TURKEYS. 

Voung turkeys command good prices by the first of No- 
vember or even earlier in our large cities, and all the heav- 
iest, old and young turkeys, should be marketed between a 
few days before Thanksgiving and Christmas, because after 
that time heavy stock is at a discount. Through January 
the demand is usually only fair, but it is a good time to dis- 
pose of any heavy turkeys that were not in condition to 
market earlier. Let us add right here that marketing thin 
poultry is throwing money away, as we might almost say 
that the difference between thin and prime stock is the 
profit. From March on the only demand is for medium 
to small turkeys, and that is when spring hens can be mar- 




While Hollands at Woodslde Farm Mr. J. A. Leiand. 
Proprietor. 

I'rhe Iwn at the left are old birds, winners of l^t l)rize as p.nir : 
Illinois State .sliuw. The others are yolMiK stoek. | 



keted best, for they are then scarce and consequently bring 
a good price. It will pay well to dress them if the work is 
properly done. 

As with other poultry, good, healthy stock must be 
used, it must have good care, be fed regularly and con- 
stant attention must be given to every detail of the business. 
Given good stock and suitable surroundings success depends 
largely on the owner or caretaker. Common sense must 
be relied on to carry us over the hard places. 

In closing I will say that I believe there is no more 
hardy and profitable turkey than the White Holland. They 
meet all market requirements and their dressing qualities, 
flesh and beauty are unexcelled. J. A. LBLAND. 




THE GREAT MARKET TURKEY. 



The Claims of the Narragansetts to This Dlstlnctlon—lnbreedlng^Care of Poults— Nine-year-old Breeders- 
How to Begin. 



By Mr. S. T. Jones. 



BREED all varieties of turkeys, the Bronze, Narragan- 
sett, Buff, Slate, White and Black. The Whites are 
the easiest to breed to standard reauirements on 
account of their color and the Narragansetts are a 
close second, because they breed so true to color. 
- ^ I flud the Bronze are the hardest to breed up to the 
standard, as it is very difficult to get a good color through- 
out and when the birds are under a year old they are not 
matured. They are tall, leggy and look light in the breast. 
If you breed What the public demands, and you must do 
that, you have to breed the leggy kind, because four out of 
five letters inquiring for young Bronze turkeys demand 
size. That is the cry— size, size. "We want them good 
in wing and tail color and great, big, heavy weight fel- 
lows." If you breed the plump, early maturing kind you 
cannot make forty or forty-five pound toms out of them. 
You must breed the big, tall, leggy kind, and when the 
toms are two and three years of age you will find that they 
will weigh forty, forty-five and even forty-eight pounds, 
and then, truly, you have the most magnificent bird in 
America. But the Narragansett, Buff. White and Slate vari- 
eties are the best market turkeys, for they mature early. 
The Narragansett heads the list and is usually ready for 
market at five or six months of age. The Buffs and Whites 
are next in order. The standard weights for Narragansett 
males (thirty and twenty pounds) are too high. The cocks 
and cockerels should weigh the same as the Buff and Slate 
turkeys, viz.: Twenty-seven and eighteen pounds, for they 
are short legged, plump and mature early. 
INBREEDING— RANGE. 
I introduce new blood into my flock every two or three 
years. I do not think it necessary to do so oftener. as I 
keep from two to six flocks of each variety, but I never 
inbreed turkeys, as I find it will not do. I breed all the 
varieties for exhibition, and when getting new blood I aim 
to improve in all sections, both in shape and color. The 
breast, body and back are the most important sections in 
shape and the wings and tail the most important in color. 
We do not raise turkeys in confinement. They must have 
a large range if we are to attain best results. I never house 
my turkeys, as I think they do better when raised in the 
open. The nearer we come to raising them in the natural 
way the better it is for them. I do not try to fence against 
them, but give them unlimited range. We keep only one 
variety on a farm and give that variety the run of the en- 
tire farm. Turkeys that are hatched in the spring will lay 
the following spring, and different turkeys will lay a vary- 
ing number of eggs. The Narragansetts lay more than any 
other variety and the Buffs are next. I have had turkeys 
that laid the entire season and did not offer to sit, while 
others will lay from ten to fifteen eggs and become broody. 
We keep from five to eight hens with one male, as we think 
that we get better results as a rule than we do if we have 



a greater number of females, though we have had from 
twelve to fourteen hens with one male and the eggs were 
all fertile. Probably 90 per cent of all turkey eggs are 
fertile unless the turkeys are overfed, and consequently are 
too fat. Let them get their own food by roaming over the 
pasture and stubble lands. 

CARE OF POULTS. 

It takes from twenty-seven to twenty-nine days to hatch 
turkey eggs. We have not tried hatching them under hens. 
For the first twenty-four to thirty-six hours after they are 
hatched we feed very small grit or gravel, and then we feed 
clabber cheese dry and some corn meal, a little millet seed 
or small cracked wheat. We keep the hen and poults in 
a small pen for eight or ten days and then put them out on 
pasture land. They need very little food from this on, and 
should not be fed more than once or twice a day for the best 
results. Turkeys get nearly all their food from the fields in 
summer and fall. Pasture and stubble land are the best 
places for them to run. In the fall begin feeding corn, or, if 
you are feeding cattle or hogs, the turkeys will get all the 
food they need, for they always manage to find the feed lots. 
The main secret in successfully feeding turkeys is to give 
them their food regularly, but be careful not to give too 
much. More turkeys are fed to death when they are young 
than die from any other cause. Nine out of ten breeders 
feed their poults until they kill them. I have had persons 
tell me what they teed young turkeys and then say: "My 
turkeys do not seem to grow well, and I know I feed them 
well." I do not see how they manage to raise any at all. 

1 am sure I could not if I fed as they do. Remember to feed 
lightly, always using the best of food and never feeding 
any damaged grain at all. A bushel of corn will feed a tur- 
key from sixty to seventy days if it has the range of the 
farm. Turkeys sell here on the market at from 8 to 12% 
cents per pound live weight at Thanksgiving. The dealers 
want turkeys weighing from ten to sixteen pounds and not 
over twenty pounds. 

A PREMIUM ON NARRAGANSETTS. 

There is a difference in the quality of 'turkeys and I 
claim that the Narragansett is king. There are turkeys that 
can beat them ou weight, but when it comes to quality, no 
other breed can be compared to them. I sell most of my 
market turkeys here at home, and sell them alive if I can. 
One firm here buys most of my turkeys and they always 
engage all the Narragansetts I have to spare and ask me 
why I do not breed them exclusively. I get a premium of 

2 to 2% cents per pound on Narragansetts. The Buffs are 
my next choice. 

Any turkeys that are off in color or the least bit out 
of shape and all of the late hatched and under weight tur- 
keys are classed with our market turkeys. Before market- 
ing I feed all that they will eat in order to have them fat, 
and market all that are ready at Thanksgiving time and the 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



75 



balance of them at Christmas. As a rule, yearlings make 
the best breeders, but I have kept some breeders until they 
were eight or nine years old. 

A turkey is most delicate from the time it is hatched 
until it is six or seven months old. If I were to name the 
two principal causes of the mortality among turkeys I 
should say overfeeding and lice. They should never be al- 
lowed to live on low, swampy ground. It is not tit for tur- 
keys or any other kind of poultry. We raise from three 
hundred to a thousand. 

If I were about to embark in the business of raising tur- 
keys and had the benefit of my present experience, I should 
buy from some reliable breeder a torn and four to six hens 
and should insist upon getting good ones. I should not 
begin by buying eggs. I should also insist that the tom 
and hens be not related, and I should never inbreed. 

Writing for the Reliable Poultry Journal on the sub- 
ject of turkeys, a prominent eastern poultryman said the 
following about our favorites: 

■'We have always had a particular liking for the Nar- 
ragansett turkey. It is nearly as large as the Bronze and 
equally as good for the table. Its plumage is very striking, 



giving one the effect of a black and white barred plumage; 
and as a resident of Rhode Island, the writer feels that the 
state which has the beautiful Narragansett Bay ought also 
to breed quite largely the beautiful Narragansett turkey. 
But it does not. Patriotic as Rhode Island is in other re- 
spects it does not let its patriotism extend to any great ex- 
tent to its selection of turkeys. 

"The Narragansett took its name from the Indians who 
once dwelt here, and was at one time more extensively bred 
in Rhode Island than now. We are reactionary to the extent 
of wishing for a return of the good old times in turkey 
raising, when the Narragansett turkey was the favorite 
breed, although, gentle reader, we will confess that any 
Rhode Island turkey, once bred and fattened here, if stuffed 
with Providence River oysters and nicely roasted, has a 
very satisfactory effect upon our palate. It may not equal 
a genuine Rhode Island clam-bake, but it comes when 
clam-bakes cannot be had, and it is so good that one can 
say, after eating of such a dish: 

" 'Let the world do its worst, 
I have dined to-day.' " 

S. T. JONES. 



BLACK TURKEYS. 



An Experienced Breeder and Judge Writes on Their Present Standing, With Reference to Size and Color. 



By Mr. Cbarles lUcClave. 




_ OULiD the writer impress upon the minds of farm- 
ers in general the importance of this branch of 
farm life there would be more homes made 
beautiful and tasty where now the means to do 
this are lacking. There is no branch of poultry 
raising in which one can realize more from the capital in- 
vested. To raise turkeys successfully and for proilL they 
must be hatched early. It is best to use turkey hens, as 
they invariably make better mothers, caring for the young 
poults much more carefully than domestic hens. 

One of the most promising varieties, the Blacks, are 
being bred in large numbers in some sections at the present 
time. The modern Black turkey is nearly equal to the 
Bronze in size. The old style Blacks were not only inferior 
in size, but poor in quality; however, by careful breeding 
and handling and with an Infusion of new blood, they have 
been greatly improved in size and general make up. To 
attain their present weights and general characteristics 
there is no question whatever but more or less Bronze blood 
has been judiciously used. 

From a market standpoint there is no question but the 
Blacks will dress yellower and even plumper than any other 
standard variety. The standard weights of Black turkeys 
are: Cocks, twenty-seven pounds; hens, eighteen pounds; 
cockerels, eighteen pounds, and pullets, twelve pounds. At 
the present time these weights are entirely too low except 



on hens. We have no trouble at Christmas time in having 
pullets from fourteen to fifteen pounds, cockerels twenty to 
twenty-four pounds and cock birds thirty or over. The 
standard requires males and females to be lustrous black 
throughout, but it is a difficult matter to secure young birds 
with solid colored plumage, as more or less feathers in 
wings will invariably be tipped with white. This will 
usually disappear at maturity. Good strains of Blacks are 
strictly hardy, their eggs hatch well, and they are fully as 
good layers as the Bronze or White. They are very docile 
in their habits and are not inclined to ramble as much as 
other varieties. The young grow rapidly from the start, 
and at selling time always command the top of the market. 
The head and beak should be long and broad and of 
good shape; eyes bright hazel; neck of medium length and 
well curved; back broad, of good length and highest in the 
center and curved the shape of an egg. The breast should 
be broad, deep and full; body of good length and round in 
outline; wings of good length and snugly folded against the 
sides; tail of medium length and when folded comparatively 
small. Thighs, shanks and toes should be of good length 
with strong bone and perfectly straight. When the good 
qualities of the Black turkey become better known we pre- 
dict that they will rival their Bronze and White cousins in 
popularity. 

CHARLES McCLAVE. 



CATCHING, MAN DUNG AND SHIPPING TURKEYS, 



Building a Trapping Pen (or Separation of the Flock — Using the Catching Net — Training for Exhibition — Coops for 

Local and Foreign Shipments. 



By H. A. Nourse, Associate Editor Reliable. Poultry Journal. 



<^ — p T IS wise to separate from the flock in tlie fail the 

birds intended for sale, as constant raiding of the 

9' flock for birds to ship not only keeps the breeders 

' wild and suspicious, but makes it extremely difficult 

to make an intelligent selection. 

The best device for "rounding up" that I have seen is a 
covered yard or trap about thirty feet long and twenty wide. 
Sometimes this may be built between two of the farm build- 
ings, using the buildings for the two sides, thus avoiding 
the necessity of setting posts and erecting sides of the en- 
closure. The poultry netting which forms the top and one 
end of the trap may be stretched between the buildings and 
fastened to them, supported by several pieces of heavy sin- 
gle wire drawn tightly from one building to the other. The 
other end, which is the entrance to the trap, is left open 
and provided with a drop which will be described later. The 
turkeys will not distrust the farm buildings and will more 
readily enter a trap between them than one separate from 
them. A wing should be constructed of poultry netting five 
feet high to extend from one corner of the entrance to a dis- 
tance of fifty feet outward or away from the trap, to form 
an extension of the side, unless one of the buildings happens 
to be so extended. The turkeys may be driven gently along 
the side of the building towards the entrance and wing, and 
an occasional handful of corn may be thrown down to occu- 
py their attention until they are at the entrance to the trap. 
Here the wing on Ihe far side of the entrance prevents them 
going beyond and they may be quickly turned into the en- 
closure. 

Constructing a trap in an open lot with no building is 
quite different. Four strong posts should be set up to form 
the corners of a space say thirty feet long and twenty wide 
and no other wood should be used. The posts may well be 
old ones, or those not carefully trimmed, and with the bark 
left on, so that there will be little about them to attract at- 
tention and arouse the turkeys' suspicions. It is not best 
to use bright wire or to turn up much earth for the 
same reason. The posts should stand five feet above ground 
and have a heavy single wire like stock fence wire stretched 
around their tops and also diagonally across the tops from 
corner to corner to support the wire netting which is 
stretched over it in forming the top of the trap. More net- 
ting is stretched around the sides and one end. This is 
tightly wired to the top and its lower edge is firmly 
pegged to the ground. One end is left open to serve as an 
entrance and is rigged with a drop. A piece of netting large 
enough to cover the open end is loosely wired to the strand 
of heavy stock fence at the top of the entrance. At the op- 
posite side of this netting, which reaches to the ground, a 
heavy cord is attached, put through pulleys at the base of 
the entrance posts and carried to a distance of sixty or sev- 
enty-five feet directly in front of the entrance. By pulling 
these cords the drop will be hauled from a position on top 
of the trap down over the front, closing the entrance. Two 
wings will be required for this trap, for there is no building 



to assist in guiding the turkeys in. These wings, or leaders, 
as fishermen would call them, should extend one from each 
side of the entrance, spreading laterally to form a sort of 
funnel into the large end of which the turkeys may be toled 
and then driven into the trap. 

The po.sts supporting the structure must be set deeply in 
the ground and all the wire stretched very tightly or it will 
be pressed out of shape by the flock running against it when 
trying to get out. Sometimes the trap may be built in a 
grove of trees and the trunks of trees used in place of posts, 
at the same time securing the benefit of the branches and 
possible low brush as a screen to partially hide the trap. If 
it is convenient the turkeys should be given their daily al- 
lowance of grain in this pen and when it is necessary to 
handle them the drop can be closed and the flock confined, 
thus avoiding the necessity of driving them in; but if they 
are trapped too often they will not go in, and cannot be 
driven or coaxed. Three times in a season should be enough 
to do all the selecting necessary. 

CATCHING THE BIRDS. 

For the actual capture a net of heavy twine eighteen 
inches deep hung on a stout iron ring eighteen inches in 
diameter, which is attached to a handle seven or eight feet 
long, is the best contrivance I know of. This if put sud- 
denly over the head of the bird and quickly drawn back will 
hold it so securely that it cannot struggle and damage its 
feathers. Always grasp the turkey by the shanks. If by 
mistake you take hold of the thigh almost every feather 
will be stripped oif. After obtaining a firm hold, quickly 
remove the net and swing the bird clear of all o'bjects until 
it stops struggling; then, retaining the hold on the shanks, 
take the turkey under one arm in such a way that its wings 
will be held tightly against its sides. This has no applica- 
tion when the bird is tame enough to be easily handled, 
wiiich, however, is not often the case with turkeys on wide 
range. 

PREPARING FOR EXHIBITION. 

The preparation of the turkey for the show room con- 
sists principally in taming and training the subject to ap- 
pear to the best advantage in the coop. If the birds are wild 
it requires some days to teach them to pose. For this pur- 
pose large coops covered with canvas, or in some manner 
constructed so that the bird cannot cut or bruise its head 
trying to get out, should be provided in a light, well venti- 
lated room, without drafts, where the temperature ranges 
but few degrees higher than outside. 

Fronts of strong slats or rods having no sharp edges or 
rough surfaces, with doors of generous size, are better than 
those of wire because they offer more chance to make friends 
of the birds confined and less opportunity for the occupants 
to injure themselves by dashing against it, as they frequent- 
ly do when introduced. A little patient work with the birds 
will win their confidence, but the attendant- should be care- 
ful not to frighten them when feeding or when cleaning the 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



77 



coops or the good work will be undone. If the specimen 
will allow the handler to turn it around in the coop with the 
hand or judging stick, without becoming nervous and re- 
treating to the far corner of the cage, it is fairly well trained 
and will show for what it is worth under the judge. Too 
long confinement tires the bird and detracts from its ap- 
pearance, if it does not make it actually sick. The wisdom 
of this coop training is evident to any one who has studied 
the turkey exhibit at the large shows. Frequently a bird 
is so frightened at any person approaching the coop that it 
will crouch in a corner or dash against the top of the cage, 
making it practically impossible to fairly estimate its qual- 
ity. Young toms are more prone to nervousness than fe- 
males or old toms. . 

COOPING FOR TRANSPORTATION. 

Coops for shipping to exhibitions should be large enough 
to allow the bird to stand upright, without rubbing its head 
against the top, and either so narrow that the occupant can- 
not turn around or wide enough so that it can turn without 
breaking its tail. I believe in the wider coop, for it is less 
likely to damage the plumage by constant friction. Coops 
for this purpose can be used season after season and should 
be solidly constructed of three-eighths inch lumber over 
frames of inch square stuff; it need not be heavy, but it 
must be strong. The top may be hinged and provided with 
hasp and staple to be hooked or locked. Ventilation may 
be provided in the back of the cover by an open space one 
inch wide and as long as the coop, and another space of 
equal size along the front of the coop two or three inches 
below the top. Tbese will admit plenty of air for birds 
shipped in cool weather, will not make a draft and the tur- 
key cannot get its head out and get hurt. Handles conven- 
iently placed should be on all large coops of this kind to 
facilitate handling by the expressmen and in a measure pro- 



tect the birds from the rough handling to which large coops 
not so equipped are sometimes subjected. 

For shipping breeding stock to points within a few days' 
journey a wood coop, with solid sides and slat top for cold 
weather and slat sides and top for warm weather, three feet 
long, three feet high and fifteen inches wide, is right for 
toms and large hens, and one six inches less in height and 
length will suffice for small hens and pullets. Coops of this 
size allow the birds to stretch to their full height and they 
arrive in much better condition than when closely hemmed 
in. Shipment to long distance points and to foreign coun- 
tries should be in more roomy quarters. Foreign consign- 
ments should be forwarded in coops three feet long, three 
feet high and three feet wide for each bird, with a little 
extra length added when large toms are to go in them. These 
coops should be made with solid sides if they are to go on 
deck when crossing the water, with a space an inch wide 
left for ventilation near the top of the front, but may have 
slatted sides if to go below decks. The only door should be 
at the bottom of the front, just wide enough to admit the 
turkey turned down on its side, and should extend the length 
of the side and be hinged at the top to open outward. Clean- 
ing and feeding may be done through this door with but 
slight chance for the turkey to escape. The water dish 
should be placed well up in the coop with provision made 
for filling it through the sides. 

Unless special arrangement is made, a bag of grain and 
a few heads of cabbage should be forwarded, marked the 
same as the coops. Very good care is accorded consign- 
ments on board vessels and if the shipper supplies food 
and utensils he may rest assured that the care- taker will do 
his part. These instructions apply to consignments for- 
warded in cold or cool weather; it is not safe to attempt 
long distance shipments in the hot weather of midsummer. 

H. A. NOURSE. 



KILLING, PLUCKING AND MARKETING TURKEYS. 



The Money Value of Attractive Appearance In Market— The Manner of Killing and Plucking— Saving the Feathers 

for an Added Proflt—CoolIng and Cleaning the Carcass— Packing for Shipment to Dealers— Dressing 

and Packing for the Family Trade— The High Prices Obtained from Private Customers — 

The Advantage of Knowing the Market. 



By tl. A. Nourse, Associate Editor Reliable Poultry Journal. 




GREAT deal depends on the manner in which 
turkeys are killed and prepared for market. 
Frequently it makes the difference in price 
between the highest and lowest quotations. 
Be the live specimen ever so fat and well 
fleshed, if it is carelessly picked and improp- 
erly packed it is often passed by for a bird not quite so well 
fattened, but presenting a better appearance when it reaches 
the market stalls. Obviously no producer can afford to send 
to market any bird that is not in good condition. 

It is not difficult to properly flesh and fatten healthy 
turkeys. If they can be confined in a covered pen of good 
size, without becoming worried and losing their appetites, 
they will take on the most flesh, for the grain fed, in the 
shortest time. But young ones that have been accustomed 
to a wild life upon a large range do not take kindly to con- 
finement and can seldom be improved if enclosed. 



As the supply of bugs and other food gets short in the 
fields the old hens will lead the young birds to the feeder 
and a good ration of whole corn each day for two or three 
weeks will put them in good flesh, with sufficient fat to give 
the meat and skin a bright, attractive appearance. 

There is a flavor belonging to the meat of a range fed 
and fattened turkey that cannot be found in one raised In 
confinement or one that has spent its days near the build- 
ings eating with the chickens. The diet of grass, roots and 
berries 'not only produces flesh at less cost per pound, but 
improves the quality. • 

Before killing, the stock should be kept for eighteen 
hours in a clean, airy place where no food can be obtained. 
They may have water up to within eight hours of the time 
of killing, for water gives a healthy look to the skin and 
assists in cleansing the digestive organs of matter which 
would become sour and taint the flesh. A short, stout club. 



LofC. 



78- 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



a long, sharp steel blade, a strong arm and a quick hand 
are required for the operation of killing. 

THE MANNER OF KILLING AND PLUCKING. 

The bird should be suspended head downward with its 
feet in a noose of strong cord, far enough from the walls of 
the house and other objects so that it cannot injure its wings 
when it struggles — as most of them do at some time. After 
stunning by dealing a sharp blow at the base of the skull 
with the club, pass the left arm around the body of the fowl 
under the wings, which usually drop down when the bird 
is stunned and the muscles relax, holding the side of the 




"McKinley," a Superb Bronze Turkey, that was sent to President McKinley by Horace Vose, who tor 

thirty'flve years has each season presented the President of the United States 

with a Thanlisgiving Turliey. 



purchaser of the bird to use about the kitchen in place of 
brushes. The long feathers of the tail are removed or not 
as the market for which they are intended requires. 

While the skin of a turkey is less likely to be torn when 
removing the feathers than that of a chicken or duck, it is 
needful to be careful and none but experienced pickers can 
safely attempt to hurry the work. The thumb and fore- 
finger do most of the work by firmly grasping a few feathers 
and removing them by a quick jerk which begins upward to- 
ward the tail and terminates outward, which movement is 
accomplished by a quick twist of the wrist. This motion first 
loosens the feathers in their sockets by starting them the 

way they grow and then re- 
moves them at an angle which 
is least likely to tear the skin. 
A well grown turkey is very 
powerful and requires to be 
held firmly yet with due care, 
for if the wings are grasped 
by their extremities or are 
held too firmly in any posi- 
tion the bird may strugglj 
and break or wrench them out 
of joint, making the carcass 
unfit for sale. 

Careful handling after pick- 
ing is very desirable, for a 
bruise will cause discoloration 
which is very detrimental lo 
the appearance of the flesh in 
market. 

SAVING THE FEATHERS. 

If many birds are killed it 
pays to save the feathers, 
especially those of the lail ard 
wings. Those of the tail 
proper and the two lower 
joints of the wings are salable 
at fifteen to thirty ceuts per 
pound and can be saved by no 
more extra labor than is re- 
quired to toss them into a 
clean receptacle when picking 
and later dry them by spread- 
ing upon the floor of a 'loft 
where there is a good circula- 
tion of air. The shorter and 
body feathers seldom com- 
mand more than 4 to 6 cents 
per pound and most turkey 
men do not care to save them 
for so little remuneration. 



breast towards you. Grasp the head in the left hand and 
forcing the bill open with the thumb and fore fingers, 
thrust the knife blade in through the mouth to just back of 
the brain and make a sharp cut directly across the roof of 
the mouth, severing the ar.teries. Then holding the bird 
firmly with the left arm and hand in the same position, be- 
gin at once to remove the feathers with the right hand, be- 
ginning at the juncture of neck and breast and working up 
over the breast and bod,v, then giving the bird a turn which 
presents the back to the operator, begin at the neck or be- 
tween the wings and pluck towards the tail. The short 
feathers of wings, tail, shanks and neck are picked next 
and the long feathers of the wings and tail, if removed at 
all, are plucked last. As a rule the feathers of the last joint 
of each wing are left on and are much appreciated by the 



COOLING AND CLEANING THE CARCASS. 

Marketing is usually done in the cold weather of late 
fall and during the winter and cooling can be done by hang- 
ing the picked turkeys in the open air, out of the sun, long 
enough to allow the escape of all animal heat, but not long 
enough to freeze or become stiff if the temperature is low. 

Most markets do not require the turkeys to be drawn, 
while some will pay less per pound for stock so prepared. 
It is always best to find what your market wants before 
killing, for if drawn turkeys are shipped where undrawn 
stock is wanted the loss or a consignment is considerable. 
Feet and heads should be washed clean and wiped dry and 
all blood removed from the mouth and throat. If care is 
used when killing and handling it will not be necessary to 
wash the body of the bird and the skin will retain its bright. 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



79 



ypUow appearance longer than it would if dampened or if 
coolpd in water rather than by the air. 

PACKING TO SHIP. 

Packing is as important an operation as piclcing, but 
not so tedious. All consignments should be packed tightly, 
not jammed, In clean boxes and sufficient packing put in 
before the cover is nailed on to prevent shifting enroute. 
Birds of different sizes, but not of different qualities, may 
be packed in the same box and the contents of the package 
should be correctly described on the outside of the cover. 
If the description says "Ten young toms and ten young 
hens" and the dealer, on opening the box, finds one old torn 
and perhaps some old hens, he of course loses confidence in 
the shipper and does not dare to 
rorommend his goods. But if the 
contents of the package never fails 
to tally with the description the 
goods are satisfactory to handle and 
the returns as a rule are better. 
Large boxes are Inconvenient to 
handle and less desired by small 
dealers than boxes weighing from 
one hundred and fifty to two hun- 
dred pounds and the smaller pack- 
ages require to be uacked less solid- 
ly and the contents show less evi- 
dence of hard pressure in the box. 
If the market catered to favors 
drawn stock it is easiest done before 
the bird is hung up to cool. The 
incision made should be as small as 
possible. A sharp knife should 
be used to cut the skin close around 
the vent and cut away the fat 
around the intestine, making an 
opening into the cavity. Through 
this the entrails must be drawn 
carefully, the operator reaching 
with his fingers into the cavity to 
free the upper end from its at- 
tachment. Nothing else need be 
removed. 

DRESSiyC AND PACKING FOR PRIVATE 
TRADE. 

If the stock is intended for a 
high price family trade, all the 
birds should be picked and han- 
dled with extreme care, the intes- 
tines drawn and the shanks and 
feet and the head removed. When 
cutting off the heads considerable 

blood will frequently be found clotted in the neck and unless 
removed it will turn black and show through the skin. If it 
happens that there is any food left in the crop it is wise to 
remove it before cooling. This is accomplished by pushing 
back the skin of the neck and working the crop out under it 
with the thumb and fore finger, taking care not to tear the 
crop in separating it from the tissues surrounding it. Re- 
moving the crop dees not leave the breast looking quite so 
well as when the crop is empty and left in because its ab- 
sence allows the skin to sink deeper in front of the breast 
bone; but if the food remains it will show black through 
the skin and mar the appearance of the bird. The skin should 
be drawn well over the end of the neck and tied with a clean 
string. Each carcass when thoroughly cooled should be 
wrapped in clean wrapping paper and packed in excelsior 
in a clean, new wooden box to be shipped to the consumer's 
kitchen door. Paper without much color should be used or 



at the end of the journey the color will be found to have 
deserted the paper to cling to the skin of the turkey, which 
will give it more the appearance of the "tattooed man" in a 
circus than that of the mainstay of a family feast. 

The family trade is usually very profitable, paying well 
for the extra labor and other expense involved. One estab- 
lishment, noted for the show room quality of its turkeys, 
has been furnishing private customers in several states 
with Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys of the finest 
grade for several years. These are prepared and shipped in 
the manner described above, the weight is taken as soon 
as the feathers are off and the bills for them call for thirty- 
five cents a pound. No exceptional ability is needed to figure 
that there is money earned by properly growing and fat- 




The Thanksgiving Turkey, illustrated on the oBposlle page, dressid and ready for shipment to 
President McKinley. Mr. Vose, the donor. Is holding also another choice 
specimen, which he has just dressed, to assist In bal- 
ancing the weight of the larger one. 

tening. and carefully picking, packing and shipping turkeys 

at that price. 

FINISH KILLING AT NEW YEAR'S. 

It is well to kill all stock unsalable for breeding or ex- 
hibition at or before the New Year. Occasionally, however, 
the poultryman will be caught with a few very late hatched 
poults presented by some wily old hen that hid her nest so 
well and was so cautious in her "comings and goings" that 
it was not discovered until she brought off a brood contrary 
to her owner's wishes and intentions. Some breeders kill 
these late hatched ones on sight, believing that it is nothing 
but time wasted to look after them. Others allow them to 
run with the hen until cold weather and then house them 
with the chickens, giving them the same care. They appear 
to do better when confined in cold weather than in warm, 
but they seem to breed lice faster than chicks and must be 



so 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



continually dusted for body lice and their heads and necks 
greased frequently to discourage the head lice. If the young- 
sters take kindly to confinement they will make very good 
growth and sell readily in the spring to the trade calling 
for small sized turkeys. These birds should never be kept 
for breeding, for they seldom make very strong birds and 
ilo not molt in the proper season. 



Every turkey raiser who markets any considerable num- 
ber each year can well afford to study his market closely; 
to find just what it wants and when it will pay most for it, 
and then bend his energies to furnishing the right stock at 
the right time. 

Marketing often determines the profit. 

H. A. NOURSE. 



MARKETING TURKEYS IN THE WEST, 



By Mr. P. H. Spraaue. 



-p=Tj HERE is no more expense in raising good stock 
than poor, and for that reason we advise those 
who intend to raise turkeys for market to invest 
in good stock. Bronze turkeys sell best on this 
market. They dress better, make a better appear- 
ance after they are dressed and sell better than 
other breeds. In fattening turkeys it is not a good plan to 
shut them up in close quarters. It is best to let them have a 
small range, as they never do well when fattened in coops. 
We do not think the food used in fattening the turkeys has 
any particular effect on the flavor of the meat. The main 
thing is to have them fat before they are killed. 

Until the weather gets cold turkeys should be shipped 
alive, but it is best to ship them dressed as soon iis the 
thermometer reaches the freezing point. In dressing it 
is advisable to kill only the fat birds, as poor, thin stock 
will bring two or three cents per pound less tlian the price 
of good stock. Old turkeys and large young gobblers should 
be marketed for Thanksgiving and Christmas, while small 
'gobblers and hens soil better after New Years. The trade 
looks for large turkeys for holiday dinners, while later in 
-the season small ones are in better demand. 
i It is impossible to tell how many turkeys are marketed 
ik; Chicago during the season, as there is no record kept, 
but it will run up into millions of pounds. While as far 
as we can learn there has not been an over supply on the 
market this season (1900-1901) there are more turkeys in 
the country than ever before. Last year the standard price 
on dressed turkeys was ten and a half cents per pound 
for number one stock, but this year we look for it to be 
about nine cents per pound. 

PREPARING TURKEYS FOR MARKET. 

A great deal of attention should be paid to the manner 
of dressing turkeys to command the best price in our mar- 
ket. Before killing and dressing them they should be kept 
without food for eighteen or twenty-four hours, but during 
that time they should have plenty of water, as stock dresses 



out brigtiter when well watered. Full crops injure the ap- 
pearance of the birds and are liable to sour. Never kill 
turkeys by wringing their necks or cutting off their heads. 
Kill by bleeding in the mouth. To properly dress turkeys 
they should be first hung up by the feet with a rope properly 
adjusted; then stick in the mouth with a sharp knife, hang 
a weight to the head and let the blood run into a barrel. 
Turkeys should alwaj s be dry picked and the feathers pre- 
served. By allowing the blood to run into a barrel as above 
described it will not stain the feathers. Feathers should 
be removed while the turkey is bleeding and, in fact, before 
it is dead, as they can be removed a great deal more easily 
than after the bird is dead. After the body feathers are taken 
off remove the tail and wing feathers and keep them separ- 
ate in bunches. The body feathers can be packed in sacks. 
Tail feathers are worth 25 to 30 cents per pound; wing 
feathers from the first two joints, from 15 to 20 per pound; 
pointers, that is the slim feathers from the tops of the 
wings, are worth 5 to 7 cents per pound; body feathers, 3 to 
4 cents per pound. It pays well to save the feathers. 

It is sometimes advisable if poor turkeys are killed to 
scald them, as they look better scalded than dry picked, but 
dry picked turkeys always sell from one to two cents per 
pound more than the scalded birds. After the turkeys are 
picked they should hang for at least twelve hours before 
being packed, until they are dry and cold, but not frozen. 
The animal heat should be entirely out of the body, because 
if they are packed before it is out they will spoil very quick- 
ly. After the birds are thoroughly cool pack in boxes or 
barrels. Boxes that hold about two hundred pounds should 
be used. Pack snugly and straighten out the body and legs 
so they will not arrive bent and twisted out of shape. Fill 
tho boxes as full as possible to prevent them moving about. 
Boxes are preferable to barrels, although barrels will do it 
boxes cannot be procured. Mark the contents of each ship- 
ment on the outside, giving gross weight and weight of 
package. If these directions are followed carefully turkeys 
will always bring the top price of the market. Yours truly, 

P. H. SPRAGUE. 



THE EASTERN MARKET. 



By Mr. Philip Qjilgley. 



The first active demand for turkeys is during Thanks- 
giving week. For that trade small hen turkeys, ranging in 
weight from eight to twelve pounds, and young gobblers 
weighing from twelve to fifteen pounds, are the most desir- 
able. After Thanksgiving small turkeys are wanted. Dur- 
ing Christmas week any size will sell readily. That is the 
only time when old toms and other heavy turkeys will sell 
to any advantage. After the Christmas trade is over heavy 
turkeys are very dull and the price is low. During Janu- 
ary, February and March small sizes are the most desirable. 

Turkeys should be dry picked, as scalded stock must 



be sold at a concession of two to three cents a pound. The 
entrails should not be removed and the head and feet should 
1)0 left intact. This applies to all dressed poultry intended 
for this market. 

Barrels or boxes may be used for packing, as the ship- 
pers prefer. Each package should be so well filled that 
the contents cannot be shuffled about in hauling. Care must 
be taken in packing, and no bird should be packed until all 
the animal heat has escaped. If packed while warm they 
are liable to turn green and so be unsalable. 

PHILIP QUIGLEY. 




--^'^^^.^« 

i^^"^^> 








SUCCESS WITH POULT RY li? '^X'o'? P*/^i'^" '«"«' '- •'«• ""« conuint, .. 

M lb. .»M..-t of " ».-i.^ #-. «-.#/. ..^''"* *'°.1^ ao<r BETTER pradiol, rtliabit Inlorm.iion 

luSS iSIf SlritSi"l',3^»t<Sff'K '.^'' V-^ o'h'r book pDblUbed. Civtt the cr«iil of etUb- 

lUlMd ItcU. Wntten and compiled by the editor of the Rbli4BLB Poultkv Iournal who haa 

^^ -^« l^^^H •*»"""■'' "*•"<>•«"«'"' •"•'•»«o">«P0»"'7bu«iDe»«. «^«i.t»t jou.HA^wnonaa 

,|^gg^^ l^M ABTinCIAL INCUBATING AND B ROODIWO um^.xup.to.M.f^mo.t^nfU- 

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"^^ manjr mo.tr.tioti..focloding.ottniber of design, of .hodern broodCT«.OT«M.ylra houSi,^^^^ 

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r*.^/KC ^ tlwconlributors are the following: A. C. Hawkin^B. B^Thoiipsoo. Bradley BiwA^amJIfclK 

Felch. D. }. Lambert. V. R. Fishel. Robt. H. Eskz, C. H. Ulhim. F W RlcfiiSi^" t2I? Hiil' 

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THE WYANDO TTES •"••'. C«M«'».WhH..Buf» .«< r.^H,ldB,. Anew'bUcalf* 

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TwTT^S^^iH '"'•"dilation writtes by ,Dcb judge, a. I. K. Fetch. T^ I. Maraball. H 8. BalKoek. K H. SbeUbargn* 

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DUCKS AND GEESE TellshowtbemoMsncccssfnl breeders of U>e day fsanage Ihcfr eiior> 

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t^^i^m £ ^ Johnston, }. p. Crangle. W. ;. Bell, ■. P. Ulrey. B. P. Hisfop. W. A. Mcon. Ed I»Sy, J. A. Lcland and S. 

»Virz\^M ?•,/?»*• ^ colored reproduction o{ an oil painting by Sewcll aided by ouneroa* a^t^^ Be\^ 

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IIEUABLE POULTRY JOURNAL PUB. CO., QUINCY, ILL; 




